Defiance
by Supa Artemis and Supa Cheyenne
Summary: Egypt AU. Yugi is the Pharaoh of Egypt, stressed from the war. Atemu is a thief and rogue, whose past is unknown. When Atemu is captured and made a palace slave, will new bonds forge? Or will Atemu's defiance deny him happiness? YYxY Yaoi by Cheyenne.
1. Prologue: Invaders

Cheyenne: Tanisi, everyone! I know I said _**Lies**_ would be out before _**Defiance**_, but as I have gotten the whole prologue for Defiance planned out, I decided to up and post it.

Don't worry; I'm close to finishing planning out the prologue to _**Lies**_, too!

I just thought I'd get this down and up, so I could concentrate on _**Lies**_ and not have my mind wandering to this story every time I try to think xD I know Yugi and the others are relatively younger in this chapter, but don't worry. This chapter (being the prologue), merely explains a past event. A very important past event.

So… Yami? … Yugi? ... Bakura?

Ryou? … Marik? Malik? Seto?!?!

OHMYRA DID YOU ALL DITCH ME?

Great, guys. Thanks. I know I can count on you all.

Jou: …*Walks into room. Sees Cheyenne. Tries to run out of room without being seen.*

Me: JOU! *Tackles*

Jou: GAH!

Me: *Puppy eyes* Pwease say the disclaimer?

Jou: *Closes eyes*

Me: *Tugs on sleeve and whimpers* PLEASE?

Jou: …Fine.

Me: THANK YOU. You shall be rewarded!

Jou: Rewarded?!

Me: Hai! *Whispers*

Jou: YES! THANK YOU! *Punches air* Disclaimer, Cheyenne doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I wish she did, because then… *Wistful sigh.* *Brightens up after thinking, and saunters off*

Me: Thank you! And now, on with the fic!!!

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"Yugi? Yugi!" Beams of light suddenly filled a rather large square-shaped room, the walls of which happened to be covered over with intricate hieroglyphics, which depicted everyday life in Egypt. ((AN: Historical Note: Though nowadays it is referred to as Egypt, and Ancient Egypt, back then the Egyptians called their land Khemet. Though I want to stay true to history, I believe it will work better if I use Egypt. I need the term 'Egyptian', after all. I don't know what the citizens of Khemet would have called themselves… Khemetians? Bleh. It'll work better if I leave the name as Egypt.))

"Mmrf!" Came the sleepy reply, and one could see a few locks of odd, spiky hair sticking out from under a white sheet.

"Come on, Yugi! Please?" The first voice whined, and a girl of about thirteen walked into the room, padding over to the bed to shake the sleeping form of a young boy. The girl had pleasant features; many would even consider her beautiful. Her eyes were blue, and her hair a rich brown that grew to about her shoulders. The boy had spiky hair that was three different colors. His bangs were blonde, and they fell softly over his angelic features. The rest of his hair was black, tipped with a crimson-like violet. His eyes were closed, however, so their color was still unknown. Suddenly, said boy threw the covers off him, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed so they were dangling above the floor. He was still short for his age, appearing years younger than his actual age of twelve. A wide grin covered his pale face -- unusual for an Egyptian, to say the least, -- and his eyes snapped open, revealing wide, brilliantly colored iris' of amethyst. He looked the very picture of innocence.

"Morning, Anzu!" The boy said to the girl, who smiled.

"Glad to see you're up, Yugi!" The girl chirped, playing with the white fabric of her linen dress. A basic golden belt was around her waist, making the dress cling to her newly developing figure. The boy – Yugi -- stretched, splaying his arms wide before returning them to his side with a bit of a giggle. He hopped off the bed, his bare feet meeting the cool tanned floors of the room. He wore no clothing, save a white kilt that was wrapped around his waist. He didn't reply to the girl, merely making his way to the door; as if trying to sneak out before-

"Prince Yugi!"

-before exactly that happened. Yugi's shoulders sagged, but he forced himself to smile at the serving girl who was standing before him, a pile of various clothing in hand.

"Good morning," Yugi replied politely as the slave-girl moved into the room, placing the bundle of clothing upon a chair.

"Anzu, if you please? I will send his majesty out when I am finished," the slave-girl said in a respectful tone.

"Oh, but do make it quick!" Anzu pouted before scurrying out of the room, closing the smooth wooden door firmly behind her. The slave-girl then proceeded to turn back to Yugi, as if sizing him up for something. Yugi, for his part, started to fidget nervously, looking towards the ground as the slave-girl proceeded to pick up a few items of clothing from the stack, muttering to herself as she did so. As he waited for her to finish picking his outfit, Yugi walked over to the small table that was beside the bed he had slept in, not fifteen minutes ago. There, lying on a carefully placed cloth was an amulet. He quickly picked it up, and slid it over his head. This was his amulet, and one of the most important possessions he owned.

But it wasn't just any amulet. A gold chain, flexible and certainly durable, held the pendant itself in place. A strange symbol known as the Sennen Eye hung from said gold piece, suspending the eye nicely. It had been a gift from his father; a symbol of his status.

He never let it out of his sight.

"Prince Yugi?" The slave asked, and Yugi whirled around to face her, this time with a genuine smile.

"Yes?" Yugi asked, walking over to her.

"Could you please put this on?" The slave held out a tunic that when worn, would start at his shoulders and end just above his knees, allowing him free movement. Yugi smiled, nodding as he took the garment from the girl and, motioning for her to turn around (which she did), he proceeded to strip himself of the kilt, slipping the tunic over his head.

"Please hold still, Your Highness," The slave-girl said, turning back around when Yugi tapped her shoulder to indicate she could look now. Yugi nodded, and held still as the girl fastened the tunic at his waist with an elaborate golden belt. She then proceeded to put a turquoise and ruby embed collar around his neck, which draped down to the top of his chest. The armbands were next; simple pieces of gold that he slid around his wrists. The slave then handed him a pair of sandals, which he put on, albeit grudgingly, without word. The girl then moved to the pile, fondling a violet cloak that matched his eyes. She proceeded to place the cloak around Yugi's shoulders, fastening it with gold clasps.

"There! Now you truly look like the Son of the Pharaoh," the slave-girl smiled, bowing as she departed the room without any further words. Yugi blushed as she left, turning to a mirror to see.

It was true; anyone who saw him would immediately recognize him as Prince Yugi, the Pharaoh's only child and heir to the Egyptian throne.

"Yugi?" Anzu asked tentatively from the doorway, causing Yugi to whirl around and run over to her, the Sennen Eye bouncing against his body as he did so.

"I'm right here, cousin!" Yugi said eyes wide with momentary excitement.

"Good!" Anzu laughed before vanishing down the hallway. Yugi waited a moment before following. Anzu had promised to show him all the little passageways in her house, where he had taken up temporary holding. He found Anzu soon enough, but only because she had apparently bumped into a male slave and was yelling at him for his inelegance.

"Anzu," Yugi placed a tentative hand on his cousin's arm, casting the slave an apologetic glance and waiting as the brown haired girl placed her hands on her hips, scowling once more at the other male before allowing Yugi to pull her down the stairs towards the door, leading to the courtyard.

"Well, Yugi! We have a couple hours for me to show you the passageways before mother and father request our presence for dinner. What do you say?" Anzu leaned towards him with a grin, and Yugi blinked once before replying: "I say, let's go!"

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**==Hours Later, at the Dinner Table==**

"So, Yugi, how have things been at the palace?" Yugi looked up to see a man with a black goatee and kind blue eyes smiling at him.

"Very pleasant, uncle Rajjos, thank you," Yugi replied courteously, as his father had always taught him to. "Father has been a bit… stressed, lately. What with the Romans knocking at our gates and all…" Yugi trailed off with a frown. Though he was but twelve, he was old enough to understand the delicate predicament Egypt was facing. The Romans, their neighbors from across the sea, were constantly threatening war on his homeland. His father, the Pharaoh, had been trying to negotiate a peace treaty between the two lands, but all attempts thus far had failed. As a result, his father had been shorter with Yugi of the late. As a result, Yugi had asked if he could visit his cousin, Anzu; his aunt, Hepnefert; and his uncle, Rajjos. They ran a small city that was near the Egyptian borders. Since it was more isolated than not, the city was a peaceful, tranquil place. That, and Yugi always had fun with Anzu; the two of them often disappearing for hours scouting out new passageways. However, he did miss his friends from home. Since Yugi tended to be shy, he had a small group of extremely close friends. They were all the sons of rich nobles, naturally, except Malik, who was the son of the general that governed the Egyptian army.

"And have you enjoyed your visit thus far?" Yugi was snapped back to reality as his uncle spoke.

"Very much so, thank you!" Yugi said with a bright smile.

"We're very glad, Yugi!" Yugi's aunt, Hepnefert, said. She was a very attractive woman, and possibly Yugi's favorite adult. She was not only extremely beautiful; she was also his late mother's twin sister. The only different between the two had been their eyes, skin tone, and height. While Hepnefert was tall, with flowing black hair, shining emerald eyes and tanned skin; Yugi's mother had been shorter, with gentle violet eyes and pale skin, much like himself.

Yugi smiled to himself, swinging his legs under the table until Anzu kicked him gently, as a warning. Yugi blushed, before pushing his plate gently away from him to indicate that he was finished; as were the other occupants of the dining room.

"Well, I declare this dinner officially-"

"Master Rajjos! Mistress Hepnefert!" A slave-girl with brown eyes and short black hair ran into the room, wild with panic. "You must get out of here! The Romans, they're-"but she never finished her last sentence on this earth, for at that moment, Anzu screamed as a sword was suddenly run through the girl, making her eyes roll back into her head before the sword was removed and she slumped down towards the ground. Yugi felt sick as fresh blood flowed from the now-dead girl, staining the otherwise stainless floors of the dining room.

In that agonizing moment, time seem to stretch as Rajjos and Hepnefert proceeded to shove Anzu and Yugi out of their seats, towards a back entrance that led into the city.

"Shiamon!" Hepnefert called desperately, and a young man appeared, his clothing blood-splattered, and his sword stained crimson. "Take Anzu and Yugi far from here! Get them to safety! Take them to the Pharaoh!" Hepnefert screamed as sounds of battle rang down the hallways, drawing nearer to their location. Yugi moved quickly, standing behind the man as Anzu and her parents said a tearful goodbye before Anzu, too, came to join Yugi by the guard.

"Mother! Father!" Anzu cried as the three of them fled the house. As they left the yard, turning into the streets of the city, agonized cries and oaths filled the air, causing Yugi to close his eyes as he recognized those of his aunt and uncle. Anzu broke down, then, falling to the ground in a sobbing wreck. The guard, Shiamon, stopped to pick her up, unaware that the young Prince hadn't been aware of their stopping. Instead, Yugi kept running and running into the crowds of fleeing Egyptians as riders on horseback and foot soldiers flooded the streets; breaking into houses, looting, and harassing citizens.

"Anzu?" Yugi screamed, suddenly realizing that his cousin and the guard were no longer behind him. "ANZU?!" Yugi yelled loud, ducking under the flailing arms of men, women, and children. His cloak had been ripped from his shoulders, and he was missing one of his golden armbands and his sandals. His tunic was torn at the hem, and his knee bleeding from when he had tripped and fallen.

_Oh, Ra! What is happening?_ Yugi thought as he watched, curling up into a ball in the alley as countless people were struck down by the merciless blades of the Romans. More were taken and thrown into wagons; bound for the Roman Slave Market. Suddenly, Yugi felt a shadow fall across the alleyway, and the looming figure of a Roman drew near.

"Well well, what do we have here?" The man snarled. A scar stretched from his forehead to his jaw, and he had draped himself in a couple items of stolen jewelry. Now, he approached Yugi with lustful intentions. The man's arm reached out, grabbing Yugi by the shoulder and hauling him up; ignoring the boys squeals of pain and protest.

"No! Please, don't!" Yugi cried helplessly as the man noticed the Sennen Eye pendant he wore.

"Plenty of time to retrieve that later, and the commander never said we couldn't have a bit of fun with the prisoners!" The man growled as he crushed his lips to Yugi's. Said boy tried to scream, kicking and flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to get away. His actions increased their frantic struggle as the man slipped his hand underneath the young Prince's tunic.

_Oh, Ra, no! _Yugi screamed mentally. _Is this my fate? Surely, it cannot be! Oh please, Ra, please!_ Yugi started sobbing as the man inched his hand up his leg, tears spilling from his distressed violet eyes to blaze a trail down his pale, dirt-streaked cheeks.

Then, the gods decided to answer his prayers.

Yugi let out a scream as the man suddenly went limp, falling just to his left. Yugi immediately sensed another presence, and in a feeble attempt at defense, he curled himself into a tight ball.

"P-Please! G-go away! Don't hurt me!" Yugi sobbed, his body shaking with both fear and relief.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but you must get up now!" A voice urged, and Yugi cracked open his eyes to find him face-to-face with… himself!?

No, wait… Though this boy looked very similar to Yugi, there were very obvious differences. First off, this boy's blonde bangs were more jagged, and he had more blonde streaks running up into the black parts of his hair, which were tipped with crimson. His skin was tan, and his features more angular and aristocratic; though he was obviously no older than fourteen. What caught Yugi's attention, though, were the boy's eyes. Unlike his own, this boy had the eyes of a demon. Crimson orbs bore into his amethyst ones, and Yugi squeaked in alarm.

"W-who are you?" Yugi stuttered.

"It doesn't matter now! We have to get out of here!" The boy snapped, grabbing Yugi's arm and hauling him roughly to his feet. Yugi squeaked again in remonstration, but he didn't struggle. He sensed this boy meant only to help him; not bring him further harm.

"I-I have to find Anzu a-and Shiamon," Yugi babbled, but the boy ignored him. After a momentary pause, Yugi felt himself being roughly pulled out of the alley as the boy started running madly to the edges of the city. By this state, Yugi was no longer recognizable as the Pharaoh's son. He looked no different than the crimson-eyed boy, save for his one gold armband. Wait… where was his collar? How had it fallen off? Yugi shook his head; he didn't have time to wonder about that! Thankfully, the Sennen Eye was still resting on his chest. Yugi struggled to keep up with the other youth, aware that his wrist was still in the strong grasp of said male.

"C-can we rest?" Yugi stuttered, but the crimson-eyed boy either ignored him, or hadn't heard.

Five minutes of frantic dodging later, the crimson-eyed boy finally pulled Yugi to rest against a house that was literally on the edge of the city. Reaching down, the youth tore a strip of cloth from his own tunic, binding Yugi's knee tightly. Yugi felt a large wave of gratitude towards this boy, who had saved him from a fate that was certainly worse than death.

"Thank you," Yugi said quietly, and was surprised to see the crimson-eyed youth glance up at him once, before nodding with a slight smile.

"'S no problem," the boy said, standing up and inclining his head towards the now moon-illuminated sky.

"No, really!" Yugi insisted. "I could be dead or…or…" He didn't want to think of the alternative.

"Got any family?" The boy asked, glancing around to see if anyone was around.

"Y-yes," Yugi said. "But my aunt and uncle were killed and I don't know where my cousin is…"

"What does she look like?"

"Umm… she's around thirteen, with short brown hair and blue eyes," Yugi supplied lamely. The boy stayed silent for another ten minutes or so, before exclaiming: "Is that her?"

Yugi looked up to see a man with three horses climbing a sand dune out of the city; towards where he knew was Men-Nefer. ((AN: I was unsure of the actual name of the Pharaoh's city, so I made up my own.)) "Yes!' The boy exclaimed, seeing Anzu atop one of the three horses. Yugi got up, scrambling over the sand, yelling Anzu and Shiamon's names as he did so.

"YUGI!" Anzu sobbed in relief as he neared. "I thought you were dead!"

"I almost was, Anzu!" Yugi felt another tear slip down his cheek. "But I was saved."

"By who?" Shiamon asked cautiously, casting a wary glance towards the now-burning city. The Romans seemed to be torching everything!

"I-I don't know…" Yugi admitted.

"Well, it doesn't matter; you must come with us now!" Anzu raised her fist to her eye and rubbed the wetness out of them. Yugi allowed himself to be pulled aboard the third horse, before turning around to see the crimson-eyed boy staring at him from a distance. Yugi felt a pang. Where would this youth go, now that the city was beyond help?

Suddenly, Yugi knew what he had to do. Directing the horse towards the boy, Yugi cleared the short distance before sliding off the horse to land roughly on the sand. He fingered the Sennen Eye around his neck, before taking said gold necklace off and placing it around the neck of the strange crimson-eyed stranger.

"I can never repay you enough for saving me, but I hope this will help." Yugi stepped back, and gestured for the boy to get on the horse. The boy looked shocked, and then unsure. He looked down to the Sennen Eye that now rested upon his chest with hesitance.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Take the horse, get out of here. Don't get caught." Yugi stepped back as the youth mounted the horse, grabbing the reins to make said animal turn in the opposite direction to where Yugi and his party were heading. But just as the boy was about to gallop off, Yugi called after him: "Wait!"

The boy stopped.

"What is your name?"

The boy paused, before calling out: "Atemu!" Then, as if by magic, he was gone. Vanished around some corner, or behind a sand dune. Either way, Yugi doubted he'd ever see him again. The young Prince didn't know why, but this knowledge saddened him greatly. Had they met under different circumstances, maybe they could have been friends…

"Yugi!" Anzu called, gesturing that he could share a horse with her. Yugi didn't miss the looks of confusion on both his companions' faces, but he merely smiled to himself and ran towards them, his thoughts centered on the strange Atemu; and what would happen from here.

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Cheyenne: Well, that's it for the prologue!! I apologize for the lame ending, but hey. It's 1:00 AM xDD I finally got this scene down in words, which is a great relief for now I can start work on _**Lies**_!

Atemu: …Right.

Cheyenne: *Sweatdrop*

Yami Cheyenne: *Snort* She's probably going to focus all her attention on this story, now!

Cheyenne: … Umm… No?

Yami Cheyenne: Liar.

Cheyenne: -_-'

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this prologue! It's the longest prologue I've ever written xD Over 3500 words!

Bakura: You're insane.

Yami Cheyenne: That's rich, coming from you!

Bakura: *Growl*

Yami Cheyenne: *Smirk*

Cheyenne and Yugi: *Nervousness*

Cheyenne: Well, again, hope you enjoyed this! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!

See, look! I'm begging! *Gets down on knees*

Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you would tell me whether you'd like me to write chapter one for this story, or start the prologue for _**Lies**_ first.

Domo Arigato!


	2. Chapter 1: Egypt's Darkness

Cheyenne: *Blinks rapidly, squeals, and hugs all reviewers/favoriters/alerters (making up words! Yay!) happily* *Incoherent thank-you babble*

Yami Cheyenne (Khemet): …She's trying to say that's she very grateful and happy.

Cheyenne: *More happy blubbering*'

Khemet: Okay, please shut up now. You're embarrassing me…

Cheyenne: *Glares, but says thank you again before calming down*

Bakura: Idiot.

Khemet: *Fixates with a glare*

Bakura: *Glares back*

Ryou: Bakura! Khemet! Stop it! Be nice for once in your lives!

Cheyenne: *Frowning* There's only one nice yami, it seems. *Clings to Atemu*

Atemu: What the…?

Yugi: Hey! Back off!

Khemet: HIKARI FIGHT!

Marik: *Pokes head into area with an evil grin*

Malik: *In front of Marik*

Seto: For some reason I am here.

Jou: …

Cheyenne and Yugi: *Eyeing each other dangerously*

Ryou: RA DAMNIT ENOUGH!

Everyone: *Turns to look at Ryou*

Atemu: …*Sweatdrop* *Walks over to Yugi*

Yugi: *Triumphant glance at Cheyenne, who sticks her tongue out like the mature girl we all know she is*

Khemet and Bakura: *Cross arms.* *Glare at each other* *Each stomp off towards their hikaris'*

Cheyenne: *Pouting*

Marik: …START THE FREAKING STORY.

Cheyenne: AHH! *Screams and flees*

Khemet: *Glares at Marik* Disclaimer: Me and my hikari do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! *Goes off to find Cheyenne, who has taken refuge in another area and is now starting to type up the story*

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**==Six Years later==**

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((AN: The whole chapter will not be written like this, only this part will.)) I look behind me. Yes, they're there just as planned. The Thief smirks at me, and nods his head full of silver hair. A scar criss-crosses near his right eye, and his red robes billow out behind him.

Yes, I think this raid will be successful… Very successful.

"All systems secure!" Marik hisses as he slides in behind me, next to Bakura. A wicked gleam lights up his lavender eyes, and his wild, disheveled-looking sandy-blonde hair seems even wilder than usual.

He must have been looking forward to this as much as I have.

And why wouldn't I feel anticipation? I've been waiting for this opportunity. So have Bakura and Marik. How do I know? I can feel it in the air. Don't ask how; I just do. Also, the fact that they've been raving on about this for weeks – nay, years – was sort of a dead giveaway.

I don't know why I blamed the Pharaoh. Perhaps it is because he didn't protect his country enough? Perhaps it is because I find it unfair that he can just sit up in his palace, living a life of luxury, while I am forced to scrounge and steal for my food.

Actually, make that steal. I don't scrounge, it is beneath me. I may be a thief, but I'm not completely barbaric, thank you very much. I steal what I need to live… well, maybe a little extra.

Hey, there's a reason I'm known as the "Darkness of Egypt". Steal, kill (only in self-defense, mind you), wrecking havoc, etc. All those things can be linked back to me. I like the title itself; nothing too fancy, yet it lets people know they shouldn't mess with me.

And most don't.

Those who do, well… they usually have a lifespan of about five seconds.

What? It's kill, or be killed. There's no room for weakness out here. If we were weak, we'd probably be slaves to that pathetic Pharaoh, catering to the needs of his spoiled guests.

It makes me sick.

Well, they'll never catch me. And even if they do (which they won't), they'll regret it, I swear to Ra! They think they'll be ever to order me around? Pah! I am Egypt's Darkness, the parallel to their precious Egyptian Light. Or, in simpler terms, the Pharaoh.

Yes, that's right. Why, you ask, do I deliberately irk both the Pharaoh and his Council-Of-Rejects so?

I don't know. Well, that's a lie, I do know. I want them to work. Work to catch me. I want them to howl in frustration when they cannot; scream and throw fits when they realize I won't just bow down and obey them, bending to their every whim.

I will show them what defiance is, and I shall continue to do so until the day I die.

People far across the country will hear of me, and my band of thieves. We WILL defy them. They will learn that we are not pushovers; we will fight for the freedom that is rightfully ours. The rights that belong to us.

Okay, now I sound like some rambling moron. Ra. The point is, I'm no "pushover." In fact, I think you'll find I have many titles throughout the glorious land we call Egypt. "Prince of Darkness", "Darkness of Egypt", etc. You see the pattern there? Some have even given me a name, and that name seems to be very popular lately. Of course, it means "Darkness", but still. Hmm… I detect a pattern here.

Thief, Pharaoh. Dark, Light. Ha!

I don't know why I am amused by this, I guess I just am. Well fine then. I will be darkness personified. The epitome of Darkness himself.

Is darkness male? Well, he is now.

"Hsst!" I turn to see a young girl staring at me. Her skin is lightly tanned, and her eyes – a deep molten amber – flash. Her hair, which usually tumbles to her elbows in brown waves, has been wound into a tight braid. She holds a dagger in her hand, a cruel smirk playing across her face.

"Ah, Khemet, you've arrived. I trust everything has gone as planned?"

"Yes, Yami!" She has chosen to call me by the name of which the people of Egypt so happily forced upon me.

I don't mind, I rather like it, actually. "Darkness". Well, I won't let them forget about that. I don't use my real name anymore; in fact only a few trusted members of my rather large thief-gang even know my name. Khemet, Bakura, and Marik are three of them.

"Mmm. Cousin Seth should get a kick out of seeing me," I smirk to myself as I imagine my prick of a cousin's face when he realizes who Yami really is.

Who I am.

I have changed, I do not deny that. Perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worse. It doesn't matter to me; nothing has been the same since that night. I clench my fists, the anger spilling out. I shouldn't blame the Pharaoh, but I do. He should have protected them better! I know Bakura blames the Pharaoh for the destruction of his home village, too. Marik… well, he was Marik. He had lots of different reasons. And Khemet. Well, Khemet is Khemet. She had told them that she had left her village to seek out work somewhere, when she was brutally beaten upon by those of the royal guard for fun. She still had a scar, a crescent moon-shaped thing on her left shoulder. She hadn't forgiven them, and had turned to a life of thievery after that. I remember finding her, on the run from about three guards because she had stolen one of their wallets. Her hair had streamed behind her, and she was laughing loudly, as if daring them to catch her.

Well, they did, and me, Bakura, and Marik stepped in to help. She has traveled with us since, and her skills are invaluable to our… organization.

"Are we ready to go?" I ask her. She nods.

"Oh, sure! Let HER do all the important stuff!" Bakura growls, glaring at Khemet. She returns the glare full force, and looks quite formidable despite her small stature. All three of us are crouched down behind the palace walls. Any moment down, the guards will open the doors. Then?

We strike.

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"We need to improve the state defenses-"

"What we need is a good offence! Stop them before they can even get clo-"

"Are you blind, man? We need more defenses for our cities!"

"Both of you shut up! What we need is-"

"A better offense!"

"No, defense!"

"I think we should try negotiating-"

"Have you lost your mind? We've already tried that!"

"…That didn't end well, did it?"

"No."

"I still say we need-"

Yugi stared at his squabbling council members, his hands pressed to the sides of his head as if he had a headache. Of course, by now he probably did. Bicker, argue, argue, bicker, squabble, quarrel, it never stopped! No wonder Egypt was in bad shape.

"Enough!" Yugi cried out finally, his hands dropping to his sides as he rose from the golden throne he had been sitting on.

"But sire! We need to discuss important details about state defense-"

"No, state offense!"

"Silence!" Yugi turned to see his High Priest, Seth, glaring down at the council members. Yugi cast him a grateful glance before turning back to said council.

"Call me when you're ready to discuss, then, instead of sitting there bickering like children!" The Pharaoh said, before turning on his heels and sliding out of the room. "Ra, can't those men to anything besides dispute?"

"I doubt it, Yug!" A new voice said, and Yugi smiled at his friend.

"You're right, Jou!" He laughed, though it almost sounded sad. "I guess they can't."

"Pah, no better than five-year-olds fighting over a single date… or fig!" Malik said, poking his platinum blonde head around the hallway, before sauntering over to join Jou and Yugi leaning against the closed door to the throne room. His lavender eyes sparked in annoyance, but they seemed to have this constant mischievous air about them.

"Darn right!" Jou agreed, shaking his own head of golden-blonde hair in mock sadness. Malik grinned, and the two high-fived each other.

"What are you guys talking about?" Another person said, and the three boys turned to see a fourth person walking down the hall towards them, his long, spiky white hair swaying slightly as he moved.

"The council," Jou piped up.

"I see… well, this might just be me, but somehow I don't think it would be too good of an idea to talk about it here… you know, where they could hear you?" The white-haired boy said, inclining his head.

"Ryou's got a point, guys," Jou said, hunching his shoulders with a slight scowl.

The albino, Ryou, gave a knowing smile. "Come on, then!" He suddenly turned, running down the hallways and disappearing around a corner. Malik was the first to take in what Ryou had done, and he quickly followed, a grin on his face as he pulled Jou along. Yugi waited a moment before he, too, followed his friends.

"It's that bad, Yug?" Jou asked, smoothing out his white kilt. Yugi hung his head with a deep sigh. It was too much… he had never wanted to be Pharaoh; he was too shy, he thought. There was too much responsibility; too many people looked up to him to protect them and make their lives easier.

How could he do that with the Romans knocking on Egypt's door?

Ever since the raid on his aunt and uncles city, six years ago, the Romans had conducted many similar actions. However, lately they had been quiet. There hadn't been a raid in over nine months, and Yugi was getting extremely nervous. What were they planning?

"Yug?" Yugi looked up and smiled tentatively as he saw all three of his friends looking at him with evident concern.

"Yes?" The young Pharaoh replied. He had been Pharaoh for about four years; when his father had died when Yugi was fourteen. It had been hard, but Yugi had had the support of Mahado, Isis, Kalim, Akhenaden, Seth, and Shada; the six keepers of the Millennium Items. He himself held the seventh item: The Millennium Puzzle. Said puzzle hung around his neck by a rope, and was in the shape of an inverted pyramid.

"You alright, Yugi? You spaced out a little there," Ryou said calmly. And he would; he was the most level-headed of the whole group!

"I'm perfectly fine," Yugi lied, though he didn't fool anybody.

"Ah, sure. And I'm the king of Rome," Jou said sarcastically.

"If you were, we'd have to kill you. Friend or no friend," A new voice said. Yugi and the others turned around to see the King of Ice himself smirking at them.

"Seth," Yugi greeted calmly. Seth's arms were crossed, and he held the Millennium Rod in his left hand. "You really should try and hear the council out, Yugi. It's in the best interests of Egypt."

"Please, Seth, not now!" Yugi pleaded, turning The Eyes on his High Priest. The Eyes were something he, Malik, and Ryou were able to pull off; not even the High Priest Seth himself could resist them!

"Fine!" Seth grumbled. He wore his traditional priest wear, complete with headdress. Ryou wore a pure white tunic that dropped just below his knees. A strip of fabric colored blue ran down it, and he wore a cape of the similar sky-shade. Jou and Malik wore much the same, save for the fact that Jou had yellow while Malik was orange. Yugi wore the traditional splendor of the Pharaoh. The crown of upper and lower Egypt rested upon his head… or at least it had about five minutes ago. Now, said crown was lying on the grass – of which was rarely seen in Egypt save the Pharaoh's gardens – in front of him, allowing his unusual hair to spike freely. His own cape was secured by heavy gold clasps, and it shone a bright amethyst; just like his eyes. He, too, wore a tunic. It fell to his knees, and was secured at the waist by another gold belt, though this was adored with precious gems. His sandals criss-crossed up his leg, ending above his calves but below his knees. He wore the familiar Egyptian collar – which was decorated with turquoise, rubies, and amethysts – symbolizing his wealth. But to Yugi, it just felt like another unwanted burden. Gold bracelets adored his arms, one around each wrist and another further up each arm, between his shoulders and elbows.

"Hey, Seth!" Jou piped up as said High Priest came up behind him, wrapping his arms around the blonde's slender waist.

"Hello, pup," Seth teased. Ryou blushed and looked away, while Malik just tried (unsuccessfully) to stifle a laugh. Yugi smiled at them both, happy that his best friend had found someone he could hold close to his heart.

((**Author Intervention**

Jou: Huzzah! You kept your promise!

Cheyenne: Yes I did, now hush!))

But he was still troubled. Would something as wonderful as what Seth and Jou had ever happen to him? No, probably not. Eventually, he'd be forced into marriage so as to produce an heir to the throne, but… he had to wonder if this would be the person he'd love. But what was love to a Pharaoh? He knew he was still expected to marry, whether he loved the person or not. Once, Yugi's council had tried arranging a marriage between him and Anzu, to keep the power in the family, they had said. Anzu had said she hadn't minded, but Yugi and his friends shot down that idea pretty fast. Marry his cousin? Sure, they got along (mostly), but Yugi knew he couldn't marry her. And the main reason was something very few people knew.

Now, Yugi knew he preferred men over women, and he knew that, as the Pharaoh, his preferences would not be disputed. He was the living Horus, after all.

Still, he found it quite lonely.

"If you two are QUITE finished being mushy and disgusting…?" Malik drawled, looking annoyed. Seth ignored them, as they all knew he would.

"We don't need them, Pup!" He growled in Jou's ear, causing the blonde to shiver pleasantly.

"Get a room!" Ryou squealed. Yugi clamped his hand over his albino friend's mouth.

"Don't give them any ideas!" The Pharaoh chirruped and with a giggle.

"Why thank you, Ryou!" Seth proclaimed, ignoring Yugi's statement. "Maybe we will." With that, he grabbed Jou's hand, and the two walked out of the gardens to Ra-knows-where to do Ra-knows-what. The three remaining men just watch them go, their expressions a jumble of whatever.

"Well." Malik was the first to break the silence. A saucy grin crept over his face, and he leapt to his feet from where he had been sitting on the grass.

"Well?" Ryou and Yugi chorused at the same time, their eye wide.

"Well nothing. I'm bored! In fact, I'm so bored, I think even listening to the council blabber on about crap has got to be more entertaining than this!" Malik stated with emphasized dramatics.

"Malik, don't be rude!" A new voice said, and Yugi looked up to see his cousin, Anzu, sweep into the gardens. Now, if Anzu had been beautiful before, she was exquisite now. Her hair was still the same length and color, falling to her shoulders. Her eyes were still the same blue, and seemed to sparkle… though definitely not as much as they used to. In fact, there seemed to be a streak of coldness in them now. But what's to be expected? Her whole home had been destroyed, and her parents murdered. All in the course of one night. She had filled out nicely, and the white linen dress with the golden waist and pink cape only emphasized that. She, too, wore two golden bracelets, one on each wrist, and a third bracelet further up her left arm. She wore a scarab necklace, which was embedded with turquoise and outlined in more gold and rubies. Yes, Anzu was quite a striking woman. And she was _very _aware of that.

"Hello, Anzu," Yugi greeted, happy to see his cousin. He was saddened by the attitude changes in her over the past six years; though he could not blame her for them. Though both Yugi's parents were dead, his hadn't been murdered. His mother died when he was born, and his father… well, yes, Yugi had been relatively close to his father, but still. His father had lived longer than expected, before an illness took him, too. Anzu's had been murdered, and they had both heard the dying screams of Hepnefert and Rajjos as they fled the burning city. Yugi thought that anyone who lost someone like that had the right to a personality change; even it was for the worse.

"Yugi," Anzu nodded stiffly, sitting down on a rock and clasping her hands on her lap; back strait as a rod.

"So, uh…" Ryou shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He always got nervous when Anzu was around, but it wasn't because he liked her. In fact, Malik and Ryou were none too found of Anzu. Yugi was saddened. Saddened that his friends didn't give his cousin more of a chance, and saddened that Anzu had made his friends dislike her in the first place.

"I gotta go, umm… we're getting some new stuff put in my room, and I must oversee that! You never know how the servants will mess up something like that." Malik suddenly said, standing up and running out of the garden.

"I need to help him! Malik's, umm… really not the best decorator ever." Ryou said, (Yugi laughed because this was very true,) and the albino stood to follow the departing blonde Egyptian. Yugi frowned after his friends, but plastered a happy smile on his face and turned to his cousin.

"So… How's Valon?" He asked tentatively, naming the current man of Anzu's "affection". ((AN: …What? Sheesh, I thought you'd all expect some mild Anzu bashing from me xD))

"Dumped him," Anzu said, yawning and placing her hand over her mouth in an arrogant bored fashion. ((AN: Why do I get the feeling one of my friends is going to yell at me over MSN for being so mean to Valon? *Flails and hides*))

"Oh, I see…" Yugi didn't say anything after that. Instead, he shifted his weight on the ground, and started to stare at the crown he had left on the ground. To his left grew a large tree, the trunk of which was curled into a most unusual shape. Still, Yugi liked this tree. It provided good shade from the hot Egyptian sun, and it gave the garden a more natural look. A small bed of flowers grew around said tree, ranging in colors from purple, to yellow, to red, to blue, and to green. "Why?"

"He wasn't fun anymore," Anzu said simply. "He didn't prove enough challenge to be worthy of my affections."

Yugi winced as she said this. To Anzu, men were a game. The harder they were to get, the more she became, well, obsessed with them. Once she had them, well, chances were they weren't going to last much longer. Anzu was a notorious heartbreaker, and her reputation was… well, what you'd expect it would be. It was none too good. If her men stopped fighting, they became boring and were soon thereafter ditched. Of course, most men never fought in the first place, so it was easy takings for Anzu. She had yet to meet a man resistant to her charms, and Yugi knew that she was growing impatient about that. Secretly he wondered, though: Would there ever be a man able to resist Anzu?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'll bet you I can sum up the events of our plan in one sentence, nay, one word. Oh, you doubt me? Well, here it is: Disaster.

There, I win whatever bet had just been made. I don't know what exactly went wrong. Perhaps there was just some sort of fluke miscalculation, or maybe the Pharaoh and his council just decided to unwittingly foil our plans, I don't know. Hmm… or, it could be that one blasted priestess who can see the future. You're wondering how I know that. Let's just say I have my ways.

"Yami, to your right!" I hear Khemet call out. I glance over at her just in time to see her plunge a dagger between the folds of armor on one of the soldiers, right into his ribcage. I quickly do as Khemet says, swinging my bloody sword in a circular motion and slamming it against that of a soldier's blade. The clang echoes throughout the front of the palace gardens, and I curse loudly. There go our last chances of escaping without too much trouble.

"Bakura, Marik, Khemet! Run!" I yell, dislodging myself from said soldier as my friends and I make a break for the palace walls. Yes, the gates are still open! No, wait! Damn! The guards must have told the gatekeeper about our retreat! The entrance is closing!

"Yami, hurry!" Khemet says. She has reached the gate, and has quite literally dived out of the palace grounds. Bakura follows her after a few steps, Marik right behind him. I myself am almost there. Five more steps… three… two…

"Gotcha!"

Shit.

"Yami!" Khemet screams. She starts to run back through the gate, but I nod urgently and Bakura grabs her arm, pulling her back. I try to twist out of my captors hold, kicking, punching, but it fails. I can't break free! The gates close, and I know I'm trapped. I see Khemet's anguished face from the other side of the bars; she tries to reach through them. When she realizes she cannot, she attempts to climb the walls to get over.

"Bakura!" I growl, and Bakura grabs Khemet.

"Get out of here! All of you!" I shout loudly, still trying to twist out of the guards grip. I am about to, when a second guard comes. Ra, damnit! I know I cannot escape this now.

"So, it is true! Ah, Egypt's Darkness. The council has been looking forward to meeting you!" I look down at the ground in a rage, my blonde bangs covering my face in shadows.

"Have I really been in that much demand?" I say, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. "Steady, boys. I wouldn't want your years of hunting to be in vain!" The guard that is holding me jerks my hands behind my back roughly, and I grit my teeth together. Ropes. They're tying me.

"It will be rewarding to see one such as you broken," the guard snarls, jerking so that I am kneeling on the ground.

"Over my dead body," I hiss, and the guard hits me on the back of the head.

"You're lucky we don't kill you right now, you ungrateful thief!"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, should I be kissing the ground at your feet, then?" I say. Apparently the guard doesn't like this kind of talk, and he lets me know that by putting a knife to my throat.

"You know, I could kill you right now!" He spits. I can't stop the grin that spreads across my face.

"I doubt the council will be happy when you kill the man they've been trying to nab alive for six years," says I. "But go ahead, kill me now. Go ahead, eradicate me! Anything's better than being a pawn of the council and your weak Pharaoh!"

"You'll pay for that… slave." He adds the last word with a hint of satisfaction, and I feel my face heating with rage. Slave? The Prince of Darkness is a slave to no man! I try to wriggle out of his grasp again, but the guard pulls me up to my feet. My arms stay tied behind my back, but the guards know me better than I thought. Two of them each grab one of my arms, and they start marching – yes, marching. Quite literally, I assure you, – to the large doors that mark the entrance to the palace. It marks the end of my thievery.

The end of my freedom.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yugi sighed as the clanging of swords and noises of combat in the frontier of the palace gardens stopped. He figured the soldiers were up there practicing with each other, and therefore opted to do nothing about it for now. Instead, he was busy praying to Ra for someone to save him from the uncomfortable silence. Anzu was staring at him, as if thinking, and Yugi was fingering his crown again, hoping against vain hope that his friends would return. That was why, when the doors from the palace to the back garden sprang open, Yugi was – at first – very grateful. Then he figured out the reason for the newcomer's intrusion.

"Pharaoh Yugi!" Mahado called out, the Millennium Ring swaying against his robes.

"Yes, Mahado?" Yugi asked, blinking in confusion as he stood up. Rarely did Mahado look so rushed.

"We caught him! After years of searching, we caught him!" Shada said, also entering the gardens.

"Him? Him who?" Yugi asked. Now he felt even more perplexed. Who was him? What were the priests talking about?

"The Prince of Darkness, the thief that has been evading us for the past six years!" Kalim said, coming up behind Mahado. His eyes were shining with excitement.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Yugi finally cried out. Even Anzu was looking annoyed by this point, and she didn't care for state-affairs.

"My Pharaoh Yugi. We have been chasing a certain band of thieves for many years – especially their leader." Mahado said, regaining his aura of equanimity.

"Their leader?" Anzu asked, suddenly looking interested.

"Yes. He goes by many names. Perhaps you've heard them?" Kalim asked.

"Have I?" Yugi frowned. "What are the names? What exactly has this man done?"

"This man has been stealing from citizens for years, my Pharaoh," Shada said.  
"He leaves much destruction and chaos wherever he goes, and seems to delight in tormenting those of higher class." Yugi blinked and stayed silent for a moment. "And his names…?"

"He has many titles. Egypt's Darkness, Prince of Darkness, etcetera." Mahado stated.

"I detect a pattern here, but I do not think I have heard these names before." Yugi admitted.

"Ah, well perhaps you have heard this one." Mahado answered smoothly. "Yami."

At that name, Yugi froze. Yes, he had heard of this man. Shortly after the destruction of his aunt and uncle's city, this man, this "Yami", had begun stealing from the high classmen, and merchants. At first he had been a mild nuisance, but then they had gotten word that he had joined up with three other bothersome thieves and formed a group. With Yami leading them, the network of thieves had expanded somewhat, and the pillages had gotten worse. But what was odd, was that Yami never stole from anyone who couldn't afford it… unless they pissed him off.

And anyone stupid enough to piss off the fabled Yami usually deserved to get whatever they had on them stolen… or at least Yami seemed to think so.

"Yes… I have heard of this… Yami. And you're saying…?"

"We caught him, my Pharaoh. He, the white-haired thief, the blonde thief, and the brown-haired female pulled off a raid on your front gardens, not even an hour ago!" Kalim said. Yugi sucked in a breath. So the sounds of combat hadn't been the soldiers practicing, but in fact the soldiers fighting against a band of advanced thieves? He shuddered. And he had briefly considered going to watch!

"Pharaoh Yugi, we require your presence in the throne room to decide the fate of this… thief," Seth said with distain, arriving finally. Yugi stifled a snicker when he saw the High Priest's tousled appearance.

"Very well," Yugi replied. He moved towards Kalim, Mahado, Shada, and Seth. Anzu got up, too, and sauntered over.

"I'm coming too," she cooed. "There's no way I'm missing the capture of such a fabled man." Yugi felt slightly uneasy, but he nodded.

"Take me to the throne room," Yugi said. Mahado nodded, and let Seth lead the way through the entrance to the palace, down the hallways and corridors. He stopped at the doors to the throne room and opened them, watching as Yugi made his way up to his throne and sit down. Anzu followed her cousin, standing to his right. The six keepers of the Millennium Items waited below as the sounds of guards drew near.

Then, the doors opened.

Even if Yugi had had more time to prepare, he knew he still would have reacted the exact same way that he did. For nothing, not even the gods, could have prepared him for that moment when the famed Thief walked through his doors.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: Wee! That was a fun chapter to write =) And I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter even more! xD Okay, so… yeah. It's going to be written from first person when I switch to Yami for the next couple of chapters, probably, and I hope ya'll don't mind that. I hope no one minded the first-person parts in this chapter, either. I'm not the best at 1st POV, so… yeah.

Seth: …

Jou: *Is just grinning happily*

Cheyenne: Can you guess the promise I made to him? *Snickering*

Khemet: Wait, so I'm a thief?

Cheyenne: Durr. You have an interesting personality.

Khemet: …

Cheyenne: What?

Bakura: You shoved me in a thief-band with HER?

Khemet: *Glares at Bakura*

Cheyenne: AH! STOP ARGUING, YOU TWO!

Khemet and Bakura: *Glare at each other and cross their arms* Fine.

Yugi and Atemu: Thank you!

Cheyenne: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review! I'll send Khemet to hunt you down again if you don't!

Khemet: I'm not a bounty hunter!

Cheyenne: … Well, the point still stands, please read and tell me if you liked the chapter or not =D I hope you enjoyed it!

Khemet and Bakura: *Go back to arguing*

Ryou and Cheyenne: *Try to break them up*

Cheyenne: R&R, please and thank you!


	3. Chapter 2: A Life for a Life

Cheyenne: Okay, yeah, I'm a lazy moron. Sue me. xDD No, but seriously, pleased don't! *Hides*

Khemet: Okay. So… she has this long explanation for people who wanna hear it (personally, I doubt you do). Long story short: She was sick, her life was hectic, and she's lazy. Mostly the lazy thing.

Cheyenne: That and I've been preparing for my upcoming trip to Disney World. *Glares at Khemet* So shut up.

Khemet: What? You WERE lazy…

Cheyenne: I JUST COULDN'T FIND INSPIRIATION OKAY? *Spazzes*

Khemet: …

Yami: Oh for-

Bakura: Get ON with it!

Khemet: No one asked your opinion, baka Tomb Robber.

Bakura: *Growls and the Millennium Ring starts glowing*

Khemet: *Smirks and dashes off*

Cheyenne: *Anime sweatdrop* ANYWAYS, I've finally decided on some major stuff that I've been debating over for a couple of weeks, so now the fic'll hopefully run more smoothly. Yay!

Marik: Get on with it!

Cheyenne: *Hides* Okay, okay! I'm typing, I'm typing!

**Disclaimer:** Cheyenne does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or it's characters. She DOES, however, own this plot and Khemet so NO STEALING RAWR xD

**Notes: A great big thank you to ALL my reviewers! It's amazing what one comment can do to a person's mood; it really is. And when those comments happen to be very nice and sweet, well… *Squeals happily and hugs all reviewers* THANK YOU!!! **

**Another Note: This will be the last chapter for awhile, as I am going to Disney World (as I mentioned above) for about two weeks starting in a couple of days. Huzzah! I have recently obtained an iPhone, so if I can connect to a wireless internet I SHOULD be able to get on and read FanFiction, though I will be unable to post any new chapters until I get back =) Also, thanks for your patience with this chapter! I know it took me awhile and I apologize for that. THANK YOU!**

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Previously: _Even if Yugi had had more time to prepare, he knew he still would have reacted the exact same way that he did. For nothing, not even the gods, could have prepared him for that moment when the famed Thief walked through his doors._

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

'_Ra.'_ That was the only thought that raced through Yugi's mind as he stared, open mouthed at the thief they had been trying to catch for so long. _'He looks like me!'_ And it was true. At first glance, maybe you'd have thought the two to be twins. Both had odd, gravity-defying spiky hair, which was the first thing any bystander would notice. But if you looked closely, you'd notice some dramatic differences. For one, while Yugi's skin was unusually pale, Yami's skin was a sun-kissed bronze. Also, this man, this thief; had streaks of blonde running into the black parts of his hair. His hair was tipped with crimson as well. Like his eyes. Yugi felt himself suck in a breath as he stared into the glinting eyes of the famed thief. He just couldn't look away! And evidentially, the thief noticed.

"Do my looks please you, Pharaoh?" The thief purred, and Yugi felt a raging heat envelope his face as he opened and closed his mouth in silent protests. To answer the thief's question: Yes. Very much so. But of course, Yugi would never – could never! – admit that.

"Silence, thief! You will not address the Pharaoh, the Lord of Two Lands, as such!" Akhenaden, one of the six priests, snapped loudly. The man Yugi knew as Yami just smirked, and Yugi couldn't help but marvel as his beautiful features. In fact, to Yugi, beautiful was an understatement! Yugi glanced over at the people around him. The six priests, Mahado, Kalim, Akhenaden, Shada, Isis, and Seth, stood in front of the throne. But upon further observation, Yugi noticed that Seth looked like he could faint at any moment! Heh, that actually was quite an amusing thought. Seth, the High Priest, about to faint. If Jou was here, Yugi knew his friend would never let his lover hear the end of it.

But that wasn't why they were here now.

"Yami, you stand under numerous charges of murder, thievery, and many other crimes against the crown!" Seth hissed, pronouncing the name "Yami" like he couldn't get used to it. Which was another thing Yugi could add to the ever growing list of Seth's odd behavior right now.

"A man's gotta live," Yami said simply, shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't matter to him. The guards securing him tightened their hold.

"Your sentence is immediate execution, do you realize that?" Akhenaden snapped. "Either that or a life's imprisonment!"

"Better kill me now, Priest. They haven't made a dungeon that can hold me," Yami tilted his head down so a shadow was cast over his tanned face. The six priests turned to each other, each of them lapsing into some murmured discussion or other. Yugi's advisor, Siamun Muran, was standing beside him, his expression masked by the white strip of cloth he wore over his face. As for Yugi, he couldn't stop staring at the young thief. When people spoke of Yami, they always spoke of him with the utmost hatred. Sure, Yugi had heard that the thief was handsome and charming, but most of that had been overshadowed by his rumored cruelty towards his victims.

"Why so eager to die, thief?" Mahado asked with his usual aura of calamity. Yugi envied him for that. He could barely keep his mouth closed! And his bewilderment was certainly in check. He couldn't shake the feeling… where had he seen this man before? Something was nagging at the back of his mind. His subconscious was yelling at him. Yelling at him for something crucial he had forgotten. "You shouldn't have forgotten!" The little voice squealed angrily. Forgotten what? Ra! He knew it should have been impossible for him to forget… yet he did. Yugi looked back up from where his head had dropped to find Yami staring directly at him, something sparking in his eyes that Yugi didn't recognize. Surprise? Awe? Horror? Surprise seemed to dominate the thief's eyes momentarily before his façade slipped back on and he once again had a cocky smirk plastered across his face.

"Because anything's better than having your freedom taken away by a runt Pharaoh and his six oh-so-noble High Priests!" Yami spoke, his voice reverberating off the walls of the golden throne room. Yugi narrowed his eyes then, glaring at the thief amongst the shocked and angry glances of the High Priests and Council members.

"I say we kill him! Right here, right now!" Akhenaden said, completely abandoning all thoughts of decorum and poise. One glance at the others told Yugi they were all in agreement, although Seth still looked uneasy. And exceedingly pale. Yugi glanced back at Anzu who was simply staring at the young thief with barely contained lust and hunger.

((Chey: …Moving on.))

"Agreed!" Kalim said, waving his hand. Isis had stayed silent this whole time, occasionally casting glances between Yugi and Yami. Yugi stayed quiet too as the guards thrust Yami towards the floor. Yugi knew the Priests expected the thief to be scared; beg for his life, even. But Yami did neither. Instead, he lifted his head and fixed them all with a stare of pure defiance. Yugi was shocked to the core at the behavior of this young man. He had repeatedly insulted the young Pharaoh and his Priests, he had openly defied those of political power, and now he was facing certain death without even batting an eyelash? Yugi was, transfixed as the guards brought their swords up. Ready to swing and finish off the thief without a second thought. But Yugi knew in his heart this was wrong. That's why, when they guards were about to drop their arms, the petite young Pharaoh stood up and with the most commanding voice he could muster yelled "STOP!"

Everything froze. Yugi was glaring at his court with his palm outstretched, amethyst eyes glinting. "Stop!" He repeated, though he knew he already had everyone's undivided attention at his sudden outburst. Even Yami, who had looked up, couldn't contain his surprise.

"Pharaoh Yugi! Please, let us end this!" Akhenaden said, finding his voice with an outraged sputter.

"When the Pharaoh speaks, you listen!" Seth growled at the elder Priest. Yugi sent him a grateful glance, unaware that he was shaking slightly. He had to make it seem like he was dealing out justice, not acting out of sympathy and the inner nagging that something was wrong. He had to keep his advisor's support. So, taking a deep breath, Yugi started talking.

"This is wrong and you know it-"the young Pharaoh began, but was cut off when as outraged roar broke out from the members of the Council, who were seated further away.

"LET THE PHARAOH SPEAK YOU IGNORANT CURS!" Seth yelled. The council silenced.

"Thank you, Seth. If I many continued…?" Yugi waited a moment. "Good. Now, this thief has made it clear he'd prefer death over a life of enslavement to those he hates: the crown. More specifically: me. Now, what better punishment is there than forcing him into what he hates most?" Yugi reasoned quietly.

The room broke into many hushed conversations. Yugi cast a glance over at the thief, whose whole expression was one of pure rage and hatred directed towards the Pharaoh. Yugi swallowed. He didn't want the thief to hate him; he couldn't stand it when people hated him. But this was the only way to save Yami's life and keep the support of his council and Priests.

"Brilliant!" One of the council members shouted with a maniacal smirk directed towards Yami. "The thief will be enslaved to the palace. Guards, take him away!"

Yugi stood stock still as the guards led Yami past him. When the thief drew close enough, he hissed to Yugi: "A life for a life; but you should have let me die, little Pharaoh. You will find that I am not easily broken!" And with that confusing statement, Yami was led out of the room and the meeting was conjoined.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yugi was pacing in his room, the events of the day still swirling around in his mind. With a sigh, he flopped onto his bed, frowning at the wall with his hands in his lap. Damnit! Why was this bothering him so much? He knew he was more sensitive towards other than he should be; especially considering he was the Pharaoh. But he couldn't deny his nature anymore than Jou could deny his appetite.

"YUGE!" Yugi almost jumped out of his skin as the door to his chamber banged open and his three deserters – err, friends – tumbled into his room, landing in a heap on the floor. Jou was the first to get up, straitening his tunic and scowling at Ryou and Malik who were trying not to laugh.

"Hey, guys." Yugi frowned, his usually innocent-looking features creasing into a gentle frown. "I take it you heard…?"

"Heard nothing, Yuge! I want you to tell me why you never told me you had a twin!" Jou sputtered.

"I don't have a twin, Jou!" Yugi said, stifling a giggle.

"THEN WHO DA HELL DID I JUST SEE IN DA HALLWAY?" Jou exploded.

"Yami…"

"What?" Ryou and Malik were up by then. "Yami? As in 'Egypt's Darkness' Yami?" Ryou asked, eyes widening. Yugi frowned, waving his hand. ((Chey: Yugi is so OOC… to me, anyways. I'M SORRY!))

"Yes," Yugi mumbled quietly, his eyes distressed. "And I feel so… bad… he hates me so much…"

"He's a thief, Yuge! They hate everybody!" Jou said, crossing his arms. ((Chey: -legasp- sacrilege!))

"I know, but I… it's just…" Yugi's eyes started tearing up a little. Ryou blinked and walker over to his friend, sitting down on the bed beside him. "Is there something else?" The albino asked.

"Y-Yes," Yugi stuttered. He didn't know what was wrong with him; why this man's hatred hit him so. But he was also confused. And so, calming himself down a little, the young Pharaoh told them of what had happened in the throne room.

"And then, when they were leading him out… he turned to me and said: _"A life for a life; but you should have let me die, little Pharaoh. You will find that I am not easily broken!"_" Yugi sniffled once. "And he said it with such… hatred! Oh, gods, I feel horrible! What have I done?"

"You did the right thing, Yuge!" Jou said fiercely. "Sounds like dat bastard deserved everything that happened!"

"But Jou…" Yugi said with wide eyes.

"No buts!" Jou swiped his hand through the air. "I can't believe you let dat guy get to ya so fast, Yuge! I mean, I know you're sensitive and all, but… damnit, Yugi, this is odd even for you!"

"I'm sorry!" Yugi cried. "I can't… I just can't help it…"

"Hey, if it's bugging you that much, maybe we could go see him? Make it seem like we're checking up on him to see if he's settling in?" Ryou suggested.

"I can't!" Yugi said. "Ra, I think he hates me enough already…"

"Yugi!" Jou grabbed his friend's arms and shook them until the boy was like a rag doll in his hands. Then he slapped him. Hard. Yugi looked shocked for a moment, his mouth opening and closing before the boy finally relaxed. "Thanks, Jou," he said with a genuine smile.

"No prob., buddy," Jou said with a grin. "I think you were just stressed out from everything dat's been happening. It can't be easy to run Egypt with those damn Romans up to their old tricks! Now, how about we all go into da gardens, eh?"

"Sounds good, even though we were JUST there," Ryou said with a slight eye-roll towards Jou.

"…-" Jou said for lack of a better comeback. "You have a better idea?"

"…Not really," Ryou admitted. Malik, who had been silent up until then, suddenly grinned and bolted out the door.

"HE'S LOOSE!" Yugi shouted, leaping off his bed to chase in an undignified manner after the crazy Egyptian.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Khemet you moron! Give that back!" Bakura shouted as the young girl swiped the dagger he had been cleaning right out of his hands.

"Make me, 'Kura!" Khemet said saucily, dangling the dagger threateningly over the fire-pit. They were currently camped out by a rock formation somewhere out in the desert. They had been moving back to the hideout, but had stopped when Marik had pointed out the setting sun.

"Khemet, I swear to Ra if you don't give that back RIGHT now they'll never find your remains!"

"Piffle, Bakura. You're so mean!" Khemet said as she grudgingly handed the other thief his dagger back.

"Would you two cut it out? We need to think up a plan to save Yami!" Marik shot the two thieves an annoyed look. He had been acting more out of character since Yami had been grabbed by the guards, and it was grating on the nerves of Bakura and Khemet.

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Khemet grumbled, sitting down next to the fire-pit.

"Now… anyone have any ideas?"

((Chey: That scene was rather pointless. OWELL.))

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yugi laughed as Malik pulled off one of his crazy antics, and the young Pharaoh felt himself in better spirits. Briefly he wondered how the council and the High Priests were coping with his decisions, but he decided to stay and enjoy the moment.

Besides, he didn't know how many more he was going to get before this whole business was over.

**==Some Hours Later==**

Yugi lay on the white sheets of his bed, a sigh breaking forth from his lips. Today had been full of simply hectic events, and the young Pharaoh could feel the sleep creeping up on him. Closing his eyes with a blissful sigh, Yugi felt himself slid deeper and deeper into slumber as the lights from the dim torches shining in the hallways slid under the cracks of his doors.

-=-=-=-=-=-

"_Why so eager to die, thief?"_

"_Because anything's better than having your freedom taken away by a runt Pharaoh and his six oh-so-noble High Priests!"_

"_I say we kill him! Right here, right now!"_

"_Stop!"_

"_Pharaoh Yugi! Please, let us end this!"_

"_This is wrong and you know it!"_

Faces floated around Yugi like a merry-go-round. He felt a sick feeling build up in his stomach. With each new voice came a new face. Akhenaden's angry one; Seth's pinched one, Mahado's calm one… Yami's defiant one. And even Yugi's own voice drifted to him at one point, and he looked down at his feet to find himself staring at a puddle, his own pale features reflected in it before the puddle vanished.

"…_what better punishment is there than forcing him into what he hates most?"_

"_A life for a life; but you should have let me die, little Pharaoh. You will find that I am not easily broken!"_

Yugi whirled around at that last statement. The one that rang louder than all the others. The one that had confused him, yet… yet he felt it made sense.

"_Thief!" _Akhenaden.

"_Pharaoh!" _Yami and Seth, their voices mingling. Yami's full of hate, and Seth's full of authority.

"_Kill him!"_

"_Stop it!"_

"_Eager to die?"_

"Stop!"

"_Freedom!"_

"_Enslaved…"_

"_A life for a life…"_

"_Murder…"_

"Please, stop!"

"_Thievery…"_

"Please! Please, stop!"

"_Numerous crimes…"_

"STOP!"

"…_should have let me die, little Pharaoh."_

"_Brilliant!"_

"…_prefer death over a life of enslavement…" _Yugi screamed, putting his hands to his ears as he heard his own voice ring out again. _"…forcing him into what he hates most!" _Yugi cried out again, trying to run from the voices.

"…_enslaved to the palace…"_

"_You will find that I am not easily broken!" _Yami's voice haunted the young Pharaoh again, and Yugi felt himself falling. Falling into nothingness. Into a never-ending black abyss.

Falling…

Falling…

Falling…

"…_should have let me die…"_

"Yami!" Yugi cried as he continued falling. He didn't know why he screamed the thief's name, but he tried to reach out for his voice. "Yami, please! Help me!"

"A life for a life, little Yugi. We're even now, don't you know that?" A voice whispered from the shadows. Yugi strained to swim through the air towards it. His stomach felt sick with the sensation of falling. "Yami!" He tried calling again.

"We're even…"

"YAMI!"

"YUGI!"

-=-=-=-=-=-

Yugi bolted up in his bed, sweat making his blonde bangs cling to his face as he panted heavily, trying to steady his frantic heartbeat.

"A life for a life…" Yugi reached up and felt the tears coursing down his face. But… that wasn't all. He could feel it. Like a lingering touch. Yugi glanced towards the door to find it open. Not wide open, but carelessly swung half-closed as if someone had been trying to close the door quietly but had fled and abandoned the task.

Yugi groaned, moving his hand towards the bedside table-thing and using it to pull himself up. He was just going to grab a drink of water before heading back to bed, when a flickering shadow in the hallway caught his attention. He figured it was just the servants; no one else was usually up at this hour. He was going to ignore it when suddenly voices drifted to him.

"-you idiot! Do you realize how much trouble I can get in?" Seth's voice drifted from outside, more like a low growl than anything.

"Yes, Seth. I'm sorry-"began a second voice, and by then Yugi had frozen completely in his tracks. Seth and…Yami?!

"You'd better be, Yami! Geez, that name feels weird…"

"You're used to my real one, Seth," Yami's voice drifted to Yugi. Rich and alluring.

"I swear, Yami, if we weren't my co-"

"Shh! Not here. I don't know how light a sleeper your Pharaoh is. And I think he could wake up at any time now…"

"Yugi? How do you…" Seth seemed to think better of it. "Why were you down here, anyways?" Yugi heard the High Priest ask instead as he inched towards the doorway.

"…I needed to learn the layout of this castle," Yami said by ways of replying. Yugi peeked around his door, and that's when he saw them.

If you were to walk down the hallway towards the Pharaoh's chambers, Yugi's room would be the second-last door to the right. Beyond that was another door that the servants used to get around. At the very end of the hallway was a window. But if you were to leave or look out of the Pharaoh's room, the door itself would be on the left.

Seth was standing on Yugi's left, further down the hall. Yami was backed up against the wall to Yugi's right, his head just to the right of one of the hallway torches. Seth was clothed in his Priest wear, which made Yugi wonder if the man freaking SLEPT in all that gold. Yami was wearing a simple brown-colored tunic, but even then he still managed to look absolutely stunning and beautiful in some freaky exotic way.

"Sure." Seth said with a growl. "Look, if you pose any harm to our Pharaoh-"

"Seth, just shut up! Ra, all these years and you still act like my mother!" Yami crossed his arms with a smirk, not even unnerved by the looming Priest who happened to tower more than a head over him at this current moment in time.

"And you are still the irresponsible idiot you always have been!" Seth spat.

"You wound me, Seth. You don't get to be the head of a thief-ring such as mine without some responsibility," Yami said smoothly. Seth sputtered.

"THIEF-RING? AND YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO TELL?"

"Yes! I do!" Yami's eyes raged, and he suddenly looked taller. "Remember that promise you made me? All those years ago? 'I promise to keep your from harm, At-'"

"Alright!" Seth cut him off. "But I hope you realize the risk I'm taking for you. In return, I want to know the REAL reason you're down here. I know you're cunning, Yami, and you wouldn't be down here just to 'learn the layout of this castle' like you said. I want the truth. What were you doing?"

"I was…"

"THE TRUTH, DAMNIT!"

Yugi heard a sigh from Yami, and he turned to see the young man sag against the wall. As he did so, Yugi caught the glint of something gold. Gold? Had Yami stolen something that quickly?

"I was going to kill the Pharaoh." Yami's answer almost made Yugi fall over due to pure shock. Either way, the answer made the young Pharaoh stagger back against the wall to his room, still peeking out the door as he slid to the ground. Yami was going to KILL him?

"YAMI!" Seth cried in outrage.

"Keep your voice down!" Yami snapped. "He's still alive; don't worry your priestly head over it."

"Yami! You were going to kill Yugi? The Pharaoh himself?" Seth sounded as if he was about to drop dead from shock! Yugi's head had by then sagged against the walls of his room, hoping that Yami and Seth didn't glance towards the half-open door.

"Yes," Yami said softly.

"Why?"

"Because!" Yami roared, making Seth take a step back. The legendary thief then proceeded to calm himself by taking a few deep breaths.

"Seth… my village… the Pharaoh didn't do ANYTHING! He just let it burn, Seth! Hundreds killed or enslaved to the Romans! AND HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO PROTECT IT! His wife's sister DIED in that attack! And, oh, they still managed to get the prince and his whore of a cousin out without a scratch, didn't they? Safely out of the whole fucking city! And I… Ra damnit I helped! I didn't know it was him… not at first… but when I saw him today, the Pharaoh… I remembered him. I fucking remembered." Yami swore loudly, and Seth had to clamp his hand over the younger man's mouth to get him to keep his voice down.

"That doesn't mean you should punish Yugi, Yami! He was ther-"

"Let me finish! I tried to get back at the Pharaoh. I stole from his nobles and guards. I found others like me; driven by a hatred towards the crown. And when the old Pharaoh died…" Yami his head. "Bakura said we should go after his son instead. It made sense. And then tonight, when I could have gotten the revenge of hundreds… I couldn't. I couldn't kill him, Seth!" Yami said, looking up at his cousin with what Yugi could interpret as anguish. The Pharaoh himself was currently trying to breathe again; his head spinning with all this new knowledge.

"Yami, I-"

"Why couldn't I do it? I wanted to kill him in the throne room. What he said… I wanted to leap up and sink my dagger into his chest right then, and screw the consequences! And just when I was going to tonight…"

"I don't-"

"He called to me, Seth." Yami said quietly.

"Called to you?"

"Yes. I was going to do it, Seth; I was going to kill him. And then… he called my name. I froze. I thought he had woken up. I thought he was going to see me; with the knife I had swiped from a guard in my hand. But then he moaned and rolled over, and he grabbed my tunic and pulled me close to him. And he asked me to help him, Seth!" Yami had turned towards the wall, but now he spun around. It was then Yugi saw it. Bouncing against the man's chest was nothing other than the Sennen Eye. Yugi's Sennen Eye. Or rather… what had used to be Yugi's, up until six years ago. Yugi sucked in a gasp, but neither Seth nor Yami heard. The thief looked deep in thought, his eyes lost as Yugi watched the man drift into a memory.

**==Yami's Flashback==**

Yami stood at the edge of the Pharaoh's bed, holding the wooden handle of the small knife he had nabbed earlier. So far, so good. He hadn't run into any guards and even if he had, well, he was a slave. They wouldn't do anything except maybe jeer and laugh at him before leaving him alone so he could plot their imminent demise when he was freed.

Oh, Ra, he was so close. The sleeping Pharaoh's back was to him; but his breathing was irregular. Almost as if he was scared. Yami sincerely hoped the Pharaoh was just dreaming as he crept closing, raising the knife slightly. So close… so close…

"Yami!" Yami froze as Yugi called his name. Shit shit shit! How could the Pharaoh have known? He had to act fast. With deadly swiftness, Yami moved forward and prepared to plunge the dagger downward.

That was when the Pharaoh started thrashing on his bedspread. "Yami, please! Help me!" He screamed. Yami bit his tongue to stop the surprised yell he was containing as Yugi suddenly grabbed his tunic, pulling the once-thief forward until their faces were dangerously close. Yami knew he couldn't struggle; Yugi was liable to wake at any moment! But he couldn't. Yugi looked so helpless, so… innocent. Up close Yami could see every detail of his face. The angelic features, the pale, smooth skin… and the crystalline tears that trekked down the Pharaoh's face. Why was he crying? Yami tried to pull away again, but Yugi just clutched him closer. He couldn't bear it anymore. Seeing the Little One – wait, Little One? Where had that come from? – in so much pain tore him apart. He wanted the little angel to smile, not cry. Angels shouldn't cry.

"A life for a life, little Yugi. We're even now, don't you know that?" Yami whispered gently to the boy, but he got the feeling he was trying to convince himself more than the tiny Pharaoh. He reached up then, stroking the young Yugi's cheeks to rid them of the salty liquid that clung there.

"Yami!" Yami heard Yugi call again. Yami felt like crying himself. Why wouldn't his Little One stop crying?

"We're even…" He whispered again, voice cracking slightly.

"YAMI!" Yugi cried desperately one last time.

"YUGI!" Yami tried to call to the Pharaoh, only find himself falling backwards as he ripped out of Yugi's grasp. Without a second thought he bolted for the door, and he was in the midst of closing it when the Pharaoh suddenly bolted upright and Yami had to jet, leaving the door half open.

And that was when he ran into Seto.

**==End Flashback==**

Yugi sat up. He had to… oh, Ra… He was panting heavily, and he suddenly realized that Yami and Seth were staring _right at him._

No… The shadows… they were cloaking Yugi. But the petite Pharaoh knew had had to get up and move. And now.

Wit the utmost haste, Yugi scrambled up; his bare feet barely making a slapping sound on the floors as he moved to his bed, climbing under the tangled sheets and laying there for a moment with great, heaving breaths. His heartbeat had picked up again, and briefly he contemplated how lucky he was that he hadn't died of a heart attack yet. Yugi finally rolled onto his side, facing the balcony and letting the cold night air sweep over him and cool him down. The conversation between the two men outside died down until Yugi was sure they were gone.

Then he truly relaxed, falling into a deep sleep.

-=-=-=-=-=-

"_Are you sure?" Yugi stared at the crimson-eyed boy with a sure smile, gratitude shining in his amethyst eyes._

"_Yes. Take the horse, get out of here. Don't get caught." Yugi stepped back then, waiting for the stranger who had saved his life to mount. The boy atop the horse clicked his tongue and the horse reared, about to race off when Yugi called out:_

"_Wait! What is your name?" The boy had stopped and was staring at him._

"_Atemu!" Was the reply, before he was gone._

'Atemu…'_ Yugi thought. _'Thank you, Atemu.'

_Yugi turned to his cousin and the guard who had helped save them._

_Atemu… Atemu was the boy who saved him… Atemu was the one with the crimson eyes… the one who looked so much like himself… the one who now wore the Sennen Eye._

"_Goodbye," Yugi called silently after the boy as he ran up the sand dunes towards his future._

-=-=-=-=-=-

Yugi opened his eyes a crack to be met with the bright rays of sunlight that streamed through his chamber. 'So peaceful…' he thought.

Then he remembered.

Seth and Yami's conversation. The confessions. And Yami… Yami had tried to kill him! Oh, gods! Yugi was instantly awake, panting slightly in his bed as he tried once again to calm his frantically beating organ.

The dream… the dream where he had heard Yami's voice… and the other dream… he had been back in his aunt and uncle's village. Fleeing with the crimson-eyed stranger, the one who wore the Sennen Eye…

He remembered.

All those years ago. How could he have forgotten? Crimson eyes, hair so much like his own. The one he had given the Sennen Eye…

"_A life for a life…" _Yugi heard Yami's words ring in his mind yet again. _"A life for a life…"_ It made sense.

The one who had saved him.

It had been Yami.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: *Dies on her keyboard and starts snoring*

Khemet: That's what you get for staying up until 3:30 AM to finish this.

Cheyenne: *Slightly drooling* Shut up…

Yami and Yugi: *Giving Cheyenne death-glares*

Yami: WHAT THE HELL?! I TRIED TO KILL YUGI?!?!?!!?!?

Cheyenne: …Meep…

Yugi: And you made Yami hate me! *Cries*

Yami: *Hugs Yugi and glares at Cheyenne*

Cheyenne: *Is still dead on her keyboard but manages to swallow fearfully anyways*

Bakura: *Irritated* Do you mind me asking what the point of that little scene with me, Khemet and Marik was all about?

Cheyenne: It told you it was just pointless.

Khemet: Like everything else you do.

Cheyenne: ;-; That made me sad.

Ryou: …*Sigh*

Anzu: So, Yami…

Cheyenne: MEEP! *Pushes herself out of her seat and tackles Anzu* NO! I DON'T LIKE YOU. *Drags Anzu by her ankle off stage*

Seth: WTF is with you and stages?

Cheyenne: They make me seem awesomer.

Khemet: -facepalm- Is that even a WORD?

Cheyenne: It is now.

Seth: How the hell can you type on a stage?!

Cheyenne: I'M JUST AMAZING OKAY? *Chucks Anzu off in some random direction and starts spewing insults after her*

Khemet: For a hikari you certainly aren't very light. Or nice.

Cheyenne: Neither are you.

Khemet: I am a yami. I'M not supposed to be nice.

Cheyenne: Maybe you're just so mean and dark that it just cancels out my light, huh?

Khemet: I'm going to- *Lunges*

Cheyenne: *Screams and runs off* Thanks for reading and I apologize SO much for my lateness!!! PLEASE R&R!! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY AND- *is tackled by Khemet* THANKS FOR READING!


	4. Chapter 3: Live and Breathe

Cheyenne: -shot-

Khemet: Umm...

Cheyenne: I'M SORRY!

Khemet: ... Here it comes...

Cheyenne: *Babbles on for a long while about how sorry she is for not updating and leaving you all like that for a bit and etc.*

Khemet: Shut up! *Hits with one of the leftover rubber chickens*

Cheyenne: Ow... *Rubs head and glares/pouts at her yami*

Yami: Moron.

Cheyenne: Shut up.

Bakura: Now, are you actually going to write this story, or just waste our time?

Cheyenne: Wasting time sounds good. *Gets whacked with the rubber chicken again*

Khemet: Type. NOW.

Cheyenne: Alright, alright! Umm... again, I'd like to apologize for the delay. But luckily, I'm not going to have to put this story on hiatus like I was planning on doing!

Why would I do that, you ask? Simple. While I was in Disney World I came up with the rest of this story's plot. I wrote it all down in my amazing orange notebook, which one night I stupidly decided to carry to a café because I was having all these awesome ideas for the story.

You can probably guess what happened. The back of the notebook was the color of the window sill, which is where I placed aforementioned Amazing-Orange-Notebook (AON). So, leaving AON there, I went to watch some fireworks outside, before returning to finish my meal.

Then we left.

Guess what I forgot?

Yes. I forgot AON. It sucked. Especially since I had forgotten the plot line I had shoved into it, hence AON's original purpose. It also had some excerpts for later scenes in both this story, and the upcoming _**Lies **_story.

Anyhoo... I came back the next day and found it gone (big surprise). I also filed a missing-report for it, but it never turned up. My parents think someone must have thrown it away.

And if that is not the case and someone stole it, well... I HOPE THEY GET MENTALLY TRAUMATIZED FROM READING ALL THAT YAOI.

Seriously. I hope they do.

But anyways, I remembered the plot, and managed to come up with a way to fit an earlier idea of mine into it. Luckily I still remember a very important scene excerpt I had written down, almost word-for-word, so I'm not too worried anymore.

But again, I'm sure you're all just sitting there going: "Oh my Ra, would she just _shut up_ and start _typing_ already?" (If you even bothered to read this.)

Khemet: PLEASE.

Cheyenne: I don't see why YOU'RE so excited.

Khemet: ... What's _that_ supposed to mean?

Cheyenne: Wouldn't you like to know? *Evil laughter*

Seth: *Shoves across the apparent stage that he's still all WTF about*

Cheyenne: *Stumbles and falls into a bottomless pit*

Jou: Seth!

Seth: What?

Khemet: Well, go get her!

Seth: Maybe later.

Yugi: Disclaimer! Cheyenne does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! She does, however, own this plot.

Cheyenne: *Voice comes from the bottomless pit* Also, city name change: Thebes! Hooray! I'm so smart and I remembered the actual city name. *Is still falling down bottomless pit* Also, I must extend formal apologizes to lucidscreamer, for I was reading over her stories again and hitting my head over a desk because I remembered where Men-Nefer came from. Sorry!

All the yamis: Idiot.

Cheyenne: Okay, so... Yugi is going to be a tad bit... OOC-ish in this chapter. I apologize.

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Yami-no-Tamashii! Yes. I was in science class with my laptop when I read her comment, and for some reason it made me think: "That's it, I am finishing this chapter even if it kills me!" If it weren't for her... well, you'd all be waiting a lot longer.**

**So... here's to you, Yami-no-Tamashii!**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

**BLARGHIT'STHEIMAGINARYLINE**

Yugi sat on his bed, violet eyes still trained at the wall (that he had been staring at for the past ten minutes) in shock.

_But if Yami is Atemu... then why did he... why is he..._ Yugi eventually abandoned this train of thought in favour of a new one.

_He lied to me!_ Yugi thought numbly, an eerie calm descending over his mind like a veil. _That thieving bastard lied to me!_ And for those who thought he was too innocent to think such vulgar phrases, well... they obviously haven't been Pharaoh for a day.

Speaking of which... wasn't it time for the daily –

"Pharaoh Yugi! The council requires your presence!"

... Never mind.

Yugi looked up to see Priest Seth standing there, robes billowing out behind him. He had adorned his usual priestly wear: The normal headdress with the serpent goddess. The white mixed with blue drew attention to his azure eyes, but only just. Behind him stood Mahado, the Millennium Ring dangling against his chest. He wore his usual stoic expression, as did Seth.

"Again?" Yugi inquired, rubbing his temples. "Didn't we already cover everything yesterday?"

"They said it was important, my Pharaoh." Seth bowed.

"Tch. Important enough to disturb the _Pharaoh's_ beauty rest? Surely nothing is _that_ important." A mocking voice came from behind Seth, and Yugi looked up to see Yami enter, carrying a tray of breakfast. His face was half grimace, half mocking. He obviously hated his status, and was doing everything in his power to annoy people.

Well, great. That's _just_ what Yugi needed right now.

"I would not address the Pharaoh in such a way, slave," Seth snarled, but Yugi saw a flicker in both the crimson eyes of Yami and the azure eyes of Seth.

Of course, he knew what it was about... kind of. The events of last night were sort of fuzzy, to say the least, and his half-awake brain was still trying to digest his discoveries.

His rather _disturbing _discoveries.

First off, he knew for a fact that Yami had tried to kill him last night. The fact that Yugi was still alive told him that something else had happened, though he wasn't sure what it was yet.

Secondly, he now knew that Yami was indeed Atemu, the young man who had rescued him from that Roman raider six years ago. Needless to say, this complicated things somewhat. He wasn't sure what he should feel towards the defiant slave.

Anger and hatred? Or gratitude?

Well, right now...

"My Pharaoh, is something wrong?" Mahado suddenly asked, and Yugi found himself wishing his friend was less perceptive.

"Rough night," Yugi replied quickly, trying not to look at Yami.

Unfortunately, his resolve weakened, and he turned just in time to see the former-thief-now-slave stiffen and avert his eyes. Seth had gone unusually quiet, too.

"Ah." Mahado's brown eyes glittered with an unreadable emotion. Yugi avoided his gaze as much as possible before standing up.

"Out, all of you!" His amethyst eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'll not have you staring at me while I change!" Mahado laughed and exited. A small smile pulled at the corners of Seth's mouth as he, too, left the room, and Yugi knew he was amused. Yami had already left... though Yugi couldn't remember seeing him leave.

Odd. He had a clear view of the door...

"Hello, my Pharaoh."

"Ack!" Yugi literally jumped around, hand rising to his chest as he got his breathing to slow. Yami was standing in the shadows of one of the large curtains which framed the balcony that stretched out of Yugi's room. A small, twisted smirk played upon his lips as he stepped out, dangerously invading Yugi's personal bubble.

"Did I scare the Pharaoh?" Yami purred. Yugi recovered and gave the slave the best glare he could muster, which was pretty formidable when applied properly. Yami, however, just chuckled.

"What do you want?" Yugi demanded, eyes still narrowed. He took an involuntary step back.

"What do I want?" Yami repeated. "What do I want... I want a lot of things, little Pharaoh."

"Listen, stop messing with me! You're just a slave! In fact, you have no right to be in here right now! You have no right to be addressing me in such a manner!" Yugi said, regaining some of his dignity. Yami actually looked mildly surprised.

"Oh really, little Pharaoh?" Yami bent down a little, until their faces were dangerously close. Yugi could feel his face heating up, though he wasn't sure whether it was due to anger... or something else entirely.

"R-Really!"

"You don't sound too sure about that," Yami said knowingly.

"Listen, I know who you-"

"Pharaoh Yugi!" Yami leapt back as the call echoed through the hallway and into the room. Seth sounded impatient.

"C-Coming!" Yugi said weakly, breezing past Yami.

"This is not over, Little Pharaoh."

But the door had closed, and Yugi was gone.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Let's get this over with!" Yugi muttered to himself, sitting down on the golden throne and waiting for the council members to start their non-ending babble about non-important stuff.

Well, actually, it WAS important, just... annoying, is all.

"Well?" Yugi crossed his arms, waiting for the men to speak. He was feeling unusually bad-tempered today. "Are you going to start or did you just call me here to waste even more of my time?" He heard chuckling from Mahado and Seth, and glanced over at his High Priests (and Priestess). Isis' face was stoic yet thoughtful. Akhenaden's expression was shadowed by his hood, whereas Kalim and Shada were casting mild glances around the room itself, Millennium Items clasped tightly in their hands.

"Pharaoh Yugi, there are some... pressing matters." The head of council, a man named Tepemkau ((Cheyenne: Meaning "Best of Souls")), cleared his throat.

"Oh?" Came Yugi's reply. ((Cheyenne: Yugi's being OOC again, I just realized... hooray!)) "What might those be?"

"Besides the obvious," Seth cut in. "We know about the invaders."

"Seth..." Yugi said warningly. Seth glared once more at Tepemkau and fell silent. Yugi sighed and turned back to the head of the council, nodding his head, which the man took as permission to start talking.

"Pharaoh Yugi, do you not trust us?" Yugi looked astonished and shocked. This had honestly been one of the last things he'd been expecting.

No, scratch that. He hadn't even considered it. "Of course I do!" Came the almost too-fast reply. The councilmen tittered behind their hands.

"They act like women!" Seth said disdainfully. Yugi had to chuckle at that. It was very true; the councilmen did have a tendency to... umm... gossip, and all that. Kind of like the rich noble ladies that were constantly strutting and parading around the palace.

And Anzu.

Also like Anzu. Speaking of which... where was she?

"Pharaoh Yugi!" The sharp voice of the Tepemkau cut through his thoughts again. Yugi balked but said nothing. ((Cheyenne: By this point I'm pretty sure this is going to be my worst chapter ever.))

"Yes?"

"The council and I have been deliberating about this. We believe you are too... stressed. For your own health, you should hand some of your power over to us." Tepemkau said silkily.

"Why?" Yugi asked. "I'm perfectly capable of running this country by myself, thank you. Or are you saying you think me incompetent?" Yugi's voice suddenly lowered dangerously, and his eyes narrowed uncharacteristically. ((Cheyenne: My worst chapter ever. Still, it is necessary, even if I'm currently in the midst of hating it myself. -facepalm-))

((Cheyenne: Also, this is about a week later that I'm typing this. Odd that my inspiration/determination came from sitting in science/math class.))

"Not at all, Pharaoh Yugi. I'm just wondering if perhaps..."

"Perhaps?" The petite Pharaoh prompted, eyes still narrowed as he sat rigid in his throne which, in a way, seemed to almost dwarf him. Seth's face was cold and impassive by this point, and Yugi was wishing his friends were here. Malik could make a situation out of almost everything. Jou could, too, if he really tried.

"Perhaps... well, as I stated before, we noticed you've become _very _stressed. Especially since that thief has been captured. Perhaps it would lighten your burden if you would relieve yourself of some affairs? Hand them over to us, my Pharaoh. We can run this country fine." Tepemkau said.

"Yeah, about as fine as a-" Yugi's head suddenly whirled around to see Jou standing there, just to the right of his throne.

"Jou!" The Pharaoh commanded sharply. His friend fell silent. Jou wasn't allowed in here during meetings! Now how the hell...?

Ah. It only took one look at Seth's smirking face to guess what had happened. Unfortunately, this was also obvious to Tepemkau.

"What's so funny, _Priest _Seth?" The councilman snarled, hands balling into fists as he glared outright at his superior.

"Why nothing. Why ever do you ask?" But The Smirk was still there. And come to think of it... where had he seen that smirk before? Tepemkau snarled again, but chose to ignore the High Priest, turning his attention back to the oh-so-fortunate Yugi.

Who had vanished.

"What the hell! Where's the Pharaoh?" Tepemkau suddenly yelled.

"Over here, sir." Yugi called from where he had been standing by the door to the throne room.

The exit door.

"I'm tired of this, Tepemkau. I am perfectly capable of running this country. I _am _the Pharaoh, and my word is law! No, you will have no more power than you already possess so long as I live and breathe!" Yugi then stalked out of the room, leaving a stunned silence behind him.

Ha! He thought privately. Truth be told, he was growing weary of Tepemkau. Weary and wary. That man... Yugi didn't trust him. Hell, he'd rather hunt down the rest of Yami's gang and let them rule the country before he handed any more power to his – what he believed to be – corrupt council.

Argh! There I go again, the young Pharaoh thought. Thinking of Yami. He shook his head, hoping to clear it. It worked for a moment; he was plunged into a blissful silence as he entered his private gardens.

Too bad he and the others, including Jou and the High Priests, didn't stay to hear Tepemkau's last words. For at that moment, the conniving man had turned to his livid fellow council members, and said: "Well, we'll just have to see how much longer you shall breathe, _Pharaoh._"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Yami wandered down the halls of the Pharaoh's palace, his mind a muddle of thoughts. Confusing thoughts. The most prominent of them all was of Yugi, the young Pharaoh he had sworn to destroy... before finding out he had saved that very man's life during the destruction of his home village almost six years ago. He could still remember that day vividly, even if the town itself no longer existed. He could still smell the scent of burning flesh, still hear the screams of the dead and dying. Still see the fire lighting up the sky; the Romans stealing people off the streets.

Rape, murder, kidnapping, burning, brutal slaughter... it all happened that night.

And Yami had been witness to Every. Single. One of them.

--

"_Temu! Temu, come on!" The little boy giggled, reaching out to grab the hand of the much older boy._

"_One moment, Ahmose. I'm busy!" Came the reply. A fourteen-year-old boy was creeping across the lawn, dagger drawn. His target? A woman with long, black hair wearing a simple white linen shift._

_Or, in other words, his mother._

"_Got it!" The boy narrowed his crimson eyes in complete triumph as he snatched a light-weighing purse that had been tied to the rope around the woman's waist._

"_Atemu!" The woman cried. She had been washing some cloths in the Nile but when her son crept up, she flailed and tumbled into the river itself. The little boy, Ahmose, squealed and ran after her, thinking this was just some game. He leapt into the cool waters, letting the liquid seep into his clothes._

_Atemu himself sat on the bank, pointing and laughing so hard he drew the attention from other people who had come down to the river that day. His blonde bangs brushed past his face, for there had been a light breeze that day._

"_Atemu, what did you do this time?" A man came out of a house about ten meters from the river banks. Atemu looked up sheepishly. The woman had since pulled herself out of the river, clothes sopping wet. She hauled the little boy, Ahmose, out after her, and glared at her eldest son._

_Though, she had to admit, it _had _been refreshing. The whole family stood, mock-glaring at each other. The woman, Atemu's mother, was a dark-skinned beauty with matching hair and eyes. She was tall, slender, and strict, though she was always fair and gentle when she needed to be. The man, the father of brothers Atemu and Ahmose, had a small beard, and short black hair. While it was fashionable for Egyptians to wear long wigs, more to keep them from sweating to death than anything else, the whole family still retained their hair._

_Of course, when you're peasants, you really don't have much of a choice. Ahmose had the same black hair as his parents, and his eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue. Rare for an Egyptian indeed._

_But Atemu, as we all know, was drastically different. With his tri-colored, gravity defying hair -- black tipped with crimson – and matching crimson eyes, he was the object of many female affections._

_Not that he returned them. He was much too busy perfecting his thieving skills. Not that anyone took him seriously of course; hell, even Atemu didn't take himself seriously! But it still gave him something to do other than boring chores._

Yami paused in his thinking and laughed bitterly. Boring chores. They didn't seem so boring, now. In fact, he would have traded anything to be able to just be able to do those chores in his old home again. Briefly, Yami remembered even more about that day. How the sun had been beating down on the Egyptians all day. Yami even remembered Ahmose complaining about it at one point. ((Cheyenne: For anyone who cares to know, Ahmose is an Egyptian name meaning "Child of the Moon" or "The Moon is Born".))

--

Atemu-Yami, or Past-Yami, had merely laughed.

"Oh, quit complaining!" He had joked. "It's not as hot as fire!"

How irony enjoyed coming up and biting him from behind. Actually, irony might as well come up and club him over the back of the head!

Bring it, Yami thought.

But the former-thief-now-slave was pulled back into the last part of the day. When Ra had finished his voyage across the sky, and was now journeying back to start the new day. The sky had been black; not a star in the sky. He would later remember this as the smoke rose into the air, staining the murky ink.

--

"_Atemu, stop complaining! Eat your meal!" Atemu's mother, Hebeny _((Cheyenne: Meaning "Ebony")), _commanded. Atemu smirked and continued to tease Ahmose, who was laughing. Atem's father, Nakhti _((Cheyenne: Meaning "Strong"))_, merely chuckled._

"_Leave him be, Heb." He laughed. "Boys will be boys. Atemu, be a good lad and go fetch us some water from the well."_

--

Yami paused in his thinking once again. He remembered how, at first, he had scowled and muttered a "fine" before moping all the way out the door to walk five minutes to the well. What a lazy child he had been. Yami chuckled to himself despite the tragic ending he knew his memories would reveal.

What happened next was the hardest to remember...

--

_Atemu hauled the heavy bucket of water up, still scowling. The scowl that increased further when he dropped the pail behind aforementioned well, spilling the water out everywhere._

Sweet mother of Osiris! _Atemu cursed to himself. He bent down to retrieve it._

_That's when they came._

_There were five of them; clad in armour from head-to-toe. Helmets covered their heads, and they wore red capes._

_The Roman Legion! Atemu sucked in his breath. These men were whispering to themselves, pointing at his house and nodding. Atemu's muscles had since frozen up. He knew what they were going to do. Oh, Ra, no! The young boy wanted to jump up – wanted to beat these men to a pulp before they could even step inside his house!_

_But he couldn't. He could only drop to his knees and peek over the edge of the well itself as the men moved towards his small home. He could only listened as they broke the door down; only listen to the screams and shouts of alarm coming from within._

This is real!_ Atemu was panicking now. He scrambled out from behind the well, running as fast as he could to the house._

_What he saw would forever taint his memories._

_The first thing he saw was his father. The elder man was being pressed up against a wall; a knife wound to his stomach and the same blood-stained knife pressed up against his throat. He seemed to freeze as he saw Atemu standing in the doorway, but the fourteen-year-old boy could only see the horrible, bloody sight in front of him._

_Ahmose. His little brother, his Ahmose, was lying in a pool of his own blood. Glassy sapphire eyes, only hours ago filled with joy and excitement, now stared blankly at the ceiling. Atemu felt his world literally crashing around him. He couldn't even cry. Nakhti was trying to warn his eldest son to run, but Atemu didn't listen. With a stifled cry, his hand reached out to grasp any weapon he could find._

_The first thing his hand came into contact with was a chair. With ragged breaths, he picked it up and smashed it into the man holding his father._

_But it was all for naught._

_Instead of slumping backwards, the Roman soldier fell forward, pushing the knife deep into Atemu's father's throat. Atemu watched in wide-eyed horror as the lights dimmed in his father's usually lively eyes._

"_No!" Atemu's hand flew to his hip. The place where he kept his dagger, but had been too foolish to remember it when he thought he had needed it the most. The guard lay, curled up on the ground. He wasn't dead, but that would soon be fixed. Atemu stood over the fallen man, dagger in hand... when suddenly he heard horrified and pained screams coming from his parent's room. His breath caught again._

_No... they couldn't... He abandoned the blacked-out man and instead ran to his parents' bedroom door. The screams were even louder now; begging._

"_Please, no!" Came the voice of Atemu's mother, followed shortly by a man's groan of pleasure. _((Cheyenne: Hey, look. I hate rape as much as the next person, but these guys are invaders, okay? I'm trying to keep it real.))

_Atemu froze again._

"_All done, men?" A smug voice asked. The clinking of armour followed by grunts of "Yes." and "Yes, sir." was the general sound. Atemu's eyes burned. He inched over and gently pushed the door open. The last of the guards was putting on the remainder of his armour, and they were all leering down at his mother. Atemu's eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back, unintentionally bumping into the table. A cup, which had been balanced there, toppled and fell to the ground with a loud thump. The door swung open to reveal the guards._

"_Atemu! Atemu, run!" Hebeny screamed from within the room._

"_Look, there's another one!"_

"_Pretty little boy, ain't he? Mmm. Pretty like his brother."_

"_You sick bastards!" Atemu threw the dagger clutched at his side, not even pausing to see if the weapon hit its intended target. Obeying Hebeny's screams to run, the young boy bolted from the house. His mother kept screaming for him to run, until the calls abruptly fell silent. Atemu felt tears spring into his eyes. He knew Hebeny, like the rest of his family, was now gone._

"_Help! The Romans have killed my family!" Atemu yelled as he ran through the streets of his hometown._

"_What?"_

"_The who?_

"_What are you saying, boy?"_

"_ROMANS!" Atemu ignored the bedlam that soon ensued; grasping the small city-town by the horns and shaking it up. People fled into the streets just as their houses went up in flames from the sudden barrages of flaming arrows. Men in armour, some on horses some on foot, flooded the street, slaughtering some people mercilessly and throwing others into charts and shackles._

_Briefly, Atemu wondered what the lord and lady of this village would do. Rajjos and his wife, Hepnefert, were put in charge of this city by none other than the Pharaoh himself! Sister to the Pharaoh's deceased wife, who was mother to the Egyptian heir Prince Yugi, Hepnefert had married Rajjos, son of one of the higher ranking nobles._

_The city was actually in relatively good shape._

_Until now._

"_Where's the army?" Atemu snarled to himself, eyes blazing. "Aren't they supposed to, oh, I don't know, _protect _the city?" He kept running. People were screaming as they fled; children cried and men tried vainly to defend their families._

_Or, well, most tried in vain. Every-now-and-then Atemu would glimpse a man (or a group of men) putting up a superb fight._

_But he didn't stop to help. He kept running. Pledging – vowing – that he wouldn't stop. And he made good on that promise... until he heard It._

"_No! Please, don't!" The voice stopped Atemu in his tracks. The first thing that came to his mind were his mother's pleas; the pleas he had heard while those men defiled her multiple times._

"_Plenty of time to retrieve that later, and the commander never said we couldn't have a bit of fun with the prisoners!" Another voice said, and rage pooled into Atemu's oddly-colored orbs. He whirled around, turning into an alley-like way between two houses._

_It was there he saw it. A man, obviously Roman, had pinned a young boy to the wall, and was creeping his hand up the boy's leg. The boy was obviously a noble; the layers of grime couldn't disguise the fact that his clothes had once been fine. There was also a golden armband on one of his arms, but it wasn't that._

_The boys eyes... filled with fear, disbelief, hopelessness... It made Atemu feel like he was slowly drowning in the pools of amethyst. Atemu suddenly realized the boy was crying. Sobbing with despair._

_Without thinking, he clasped his hands together and took a mighty swing, and the Roman fell. Atemu's fists hurt like hell, but he quickly looked back down to the frightened boy._

--

Yami paused once more. Of course, at the time, he hadn't realized that this boy was Yugi, the very person he had sworn to destroy some time after the disaster itself. If he had known...

This was part of the problem. Even if he had known... Yami knew he still would have tried to save him.

--

_The boy had screamed when the man was felled, but now he merely curled up into a ball in a pathetic attempt at defending himself. Atemu couldn't help but feel a spark of annoyance._

Yes, kid, _he thought. _I totally saved you just so I could tear you apart myself. Please.

"_P-Please! G-go away! Don't hurt me!" The boy sobbed, body shaking. Atemu rolled his eyes._

"_I'm not going to hurt you, but you must get up now!" Atemu commanded. But when the boy looked up, he couldn't help but freak out a little. They... he and the boy... could pass for brothers! The only differences were that this boy had violet eyes, unusually pale skin, was obviously shorter (younger?), and didn't have the crazy lightning-like streaks that slashed through Atemu's own hair. Additionally, while Atemu's features were sharp and defined, this boy had a soft, angelic face._

_The boy squeaked in alarm. "W-who are you?" He asked._

"_It doesn't matter now! We have to get out of here!" Atemu snapped, forcefully hauling the boy to his feet, maybe a bit harsher than he should have._

"_I-I have to find Anzu a-and Shiamon," Atemu heard the boy stumbled, but he chose to ignore him. The boy was obviously getting over his traumatic experience._

_After Atemu had dragged the boy around for a bit, he heard a tired: "C-can we rest?" Atemu ignored him again. Truth be told, he'd welcome rest! He'd been running around for what felt like hours. But he knew they had to get far enough away from the main part of the city. The outskirts of town, perhaps. Where only the open desert stood in front of their escape._

_Atemu was lucky it was night, or all the running would have made him drop dead of exhaustion and possible dehydration._

_Finally they came to the edge, and Atemu made the amethyst-eyed boy lean against a house while he tore a part of his tunic and bound the boy's bleeding knee._

"_Thank you," the boy said quietly. Atemu glanced up at him momentarily, a smile lingering on his lips._

"'_S no problem."_

"_No, really! I could be dead, or... or..." the boy didn't finished, but Atemu got the meaning._

"_Got any family?" If this boy did... if they were still alive..._

"_Y-yes, but my aunt and uncle were killed and I don't know where my cousin is…" The boy trailed off. So this boy had lost his family, too?_

"_What does she look like?" Atemu inquired. He had spotted three horses in the distance, atop a sand dune not far from here. They were close enough so he could make out distinguishing characteristics, but little more than that._

"_Umm… she's around thirteen, with short brown hair and blue eyes," came the reply. Atemu was silent, studying the figures._

_The female DID match the description... "That her?"_

"_Yes!" The boy cried in relief. Atemu watched as he scrambled over the sand, dunes and all, to reach them. A stab of jealousy lanced through the crimson-eyed boy. Why did this boy get to keep some of his family while Atemu's own had been killed without mercy?_

_He watched them talk, not being able to make out the words but understanding from the happy gestures that they were all relieved._

_But just as Atemu had turned to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of hooves on sand. Atemu whirled around as the amethyst-eyed boy slid off his horse with freakish grace, and solemnly placed a necklace over the stunned Atemu's neck. He looked down. The necklace depicted the Sennen Eye, a well-known symbol. And it was made of pure gold! Oh, all the money he could... no. Atemu looked down again. No. He would never sell this. It was obviously very important._

"_I can never repay you enough for saving me, but I hope this will help," the amethyst-eyed boy said. He gestured to the horse then, causing Atemu to take a shocked step back._

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes. Take the horse; get out of here. Don't get caught!" _I don't plan on it, _Atemu thought in reply. He made the horse turn in the opposite direction. He knew another town lay there. A town where he could stay... if only for a little while._

"_Wait!" The boy suddenly called. Atemu paused._

"_What is your name?" The amethyst-eyed figure asked. Atemu paused for a moment, before smirking and galloping off._

"_Atemu!" He called over his shoulder. It wasn't until later he discovered he had never learned the other boy's name in return._

--

For the final time, Yami pulled out of his own thoughts. After that he had arrived in the town, met Akefia Bakura (who had insisted Atemu just call him Bakura), and started thieving small things around the town. Just enough to keep them fed... and somewhat comfortable.

They met Marik soon afterwards. The man had been brawling in a tavern Akefia had been visiting three years later, when Atemu was seventeen, and the crimson-eyed man had brought the crazy Egyptian back to their hideout.

The thieving had progressed since then. They stole bigger things. They developed a reputation. The term "Yami" had been used to identify the mysterious crimson-eyed thief for the first time.

One year later, when Atemu was nineteen, Akefia was twenty, and Marik was eighteen-turning-nineteen, they met Khemet. She had joined shortly after, at the age of fifteen. They had all been thieving together for two years, now, and had become the most feared people in all of Egypt.

Sometimes, the term Kamenwati, a name meaning "Dark Rebel", was even applied.

Though that was extremely rare.

"Yami!" Yami turned around, pushing himself away from the wall to face a young woman with azure eyes, so much like his cousin's.

"Is there anything you require?" Yami asked. He knew who this woman was. The Pharaoh's cousin, Anzu.

The girl he had seen on the horse that night.

"Yes, actually," Anzu purred. Yami inclined his head, looking bored.

"Oh? Please, if you have need of anything, make it quick. The council-of-idiots has seen to it that I am to be giving as many duties as possible."

Untrue. Actually, the councilmen had tried to avoid him as much as possible. Smart move, the famed former-thief concluded with a smirk.

Anzu laughed, the silvery sound tinkling through the deserted hall.

Wait... deserted? Yami glanced around. Usually there were more servants or slaves scurrying about. Hmm... he did not like this.

Anzu laughed again. "Of course I require something," she said. Yami was not liking the look on her face, nor the way she moved towards him with Ra-knows-what intent. Yami stepped back, and hit something hard.

Damn! A wall. Yami hissed a curse under his breath.

"Please, pardon me, miss, I have many duties to attend to." Yami slipped out of her path, but Anzu was quick. She reached out and grabbed his arm, tracing her fingers up and down the limb. Yami shivered, but not out of pleasure.

Unfortunately, that's what Anzu took it as.

"You like this?" She smirked seductively.

"Actually, miss, I'm finding it more than a little unpleasant. If you would unhand me...?"

Anzu laughed. Again. The sound was now starting to annoy the crimson-eyed man.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Look, I do have my duties to attend to-"

"Yami!" Yami breathed out in relief as Anzu suddenly let go of his arm and stepped back. Jou was stamping towards them.

Well, next to seeing Bakura, Marik, or Khemet walking down that hall, Yami couldn't have been more surprised.

"Yes?"

"The Pharaoh's asking for you. Says he has something to say."

"I see." Yami's face was as impassive as he voice. As he breezed past Anzu, he faintly heard her whisper:

"See you later."

Not if I can help it, was Yami's thought. He fell into step, slightly behind Jou as all slaves must do.

He hated it.

Just as they were about to reach the gardens, however, Jou whirled around and glared fiercely at the former-thief.

"Listen, bud. I don't disobey the orders of the Pharaoh, but Yuge also happens to be my best friend! If you try _anything _funny, I assure you... you won't be laughing for much longer!"

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Yami said, defiant smirk in place.

"Good." And with that, Jou led Yami through the entrance into the Pharaoh's personal gardens, to face whatever the young Pharaoh had to say.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: Lame chapter endings FOR THE FREAKING WIN.

I DID IT. I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! Reason in the dedication.

Whoo hoo!

Khemet: It's about freaking time.

Cheyenne: Shut up.

Yami: Yes, Cheyenne, it's about time. I mean, seriously! How long has it been?

Cheyenne: It totally hasn't been almost exactly two months, I swear! ((Seriously. If I had waited until tomorrow to post this, it would have been _exactly _two months since I last updated this story. SPECIAL!))

Yes, this chapter was mostly a giant flashback, BUT I DON'T CARE. It was fun to write.

Ah, now what could our dear Pharaoh Yugi have to say to Atemu?

No, no fluff in this chapter... unless you count the earlier confrontation in Yugi's chambers, albeit that's not really fluff.

And additionally, in order to make it up to you all, this chapter exceeded 6,000 words. Again, I am _so _sorry for the wait, guys! My muse died for this story, but at least it was rekindled!

Whoo! I hope to have the next chapter out soon, and hopefully it won't take as long to get out as this chapter did. *Laughs*

Thank you for reading, and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review!

Also, no, I'm not going to have a retarded author chat with my characters, because if I bring Yami out again he's going to kill me using some of those horrible Egyptian tortures.

Not my idea of fun, especially considering I have exams and crap starting tomorrow and whatnot.

But I doubt any of you care about my retarded school-life.

**AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Starting soon, Defiance will be undergoing a name change. Yes, that's right, a name change. I don't know why, but this title has really been bugging me. I believe I am going to change the title name to **_**Love Me, Hate Me**_**. Please, in your review, let me know what you think of this.**

**ANOTHER RETARDED DEDICATION: I'd also like to thank Artemis for helping me with this when I was feeling really bad about writing and stuff about a week or so back. THANKS, ARTEMIS! *Hugs***


	5. Chapter 4: Rumours and Reputations

Cheyenne: An update? NO WAI!

My retarded school life has come to an end. At least until September, that is. And so, I have decided to start this new chapter. Umm... I kindofforgotwhatIwasgoingtowriteinthis. I'll just improvise, as usual.

Khemet: Way to go.

Cheyenne: It will come to me, I swear! Take that, Khemet!

Khemet: You still seem to have hit a standstill in general.

Cheyenne: STFU, Khemet. Anyways... Here is chapter four of Defiance! AND OHMYGOD I LOVE ALL YOU REVIEWERS! *Glomps you all and squeals*

I feel the need to do a review reply thing, so brace yourselves.

**Natoya:**I laughed reading the "bubble" part of your review xD Yeah, I wrote a horrible past. *Is a sadist* *Winces* Ah, yes. Anzu. But she plays an important role in the story, so I need her to be like that. I'm glad you enjoyed it ^^

**Yami-no-Tamashii:**Is he really? Yay! And yeah, even for me it's a little hard to get used to. But I'm happy, because I know the whole "Pharaoh Yugi" thing is an original idea, so... *Grins* And yeah, I rather liked writing Anzu as a nice person in the first chapter, but... *Pokes her comment to Natoya* As I said, she plays a very important role, so I need her like this. And no, Tepemkau is not known for his subtlety ^^

**Clare-stovold:**It really is. I'm still mopey over it, but since then I've learned not to carry that kind of stuff around. I have it all saved on my laptop, instead. And LOL! Yes. It's their own fault for taking it in the first place xD

**tinkletimekelly:**You're welcome. I feel the need to thank you, as well. I know you don't like OCs.

**weecookie:**I'm sorry xD I wanted to continue it, as well, but I was getting a bit out of control ^^ I didn't want to finish the story in that chapter =O Glad you enjoyed it ^^

**Katya Motou:**I see where you're going with that. Okay, the name'll stay. Aww, thanks! *Hugs* I'm happy you think that (: Thank you!

**yamiatemyugi:** Horrible past is horrible.

**CouchPotato121:**I love your pen name ;3 And thanks. I don't set deadlines for myself, because I suck and never meet them. -facepalm- It's good to know that you're not all: "UPDATE NAO OR I KEEEL YOUZ O" xD

**Artemis:** *Hugs* Edit away, my friend!

**Yizuki:**I don't really know what to say. Thank you? xD I feel happy and I obviously suck at responding to reviews like that ^^

**-siarafaerie-101-miss:** Interesting pen name. I hope this was soon enough for you, because I suck and I take forever to get chapters out. I'm happy you liked it ^^

**Vivid Imaginest:** Yay! *Eats cookie and muffin* I feel honoured to receive your longest review ever ^^ I'm really happy that you like this story so much, and I apologize for not updating sooner. I'm really bad at replying to reviews that make me really happy every time I read them ;__; Sorry.

**kitsunkuruoshii:** Here's the more =O

/reviewthing

Cheyenne: Well. Now, for the disclaimer...

Jou: *Escapes before Cheyenne can get him*

Cheyenne: ... f***.

Khemet: What would you parents say?

Cheyenne: What they don't know doesn't hurt 'em.

Khemet: Idiot. And to save you the trouble: Cheyenne does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Cheyenne: But I wanted to annoy-

Khemet: I'm sure you annoy him anyways. Now shut up and write!

Cheyenne: Yes, master.

**Note:** This chapter goes out to you, Natoya, for being such an amazing friend to everyone! *Hugs*

* * *

The first thing that caught Yami's attention when he stepped into the garden was hands-down the splendid torrent of odours that swept his senses clear to the heavens. For a moment, the once-thief-now-slave merely stood there, admiring not only the wonderful scents, but also the very layout of the garden itself.

Before him stretched grass as green as the emeralds he stole, and flowers red as blood. Not only that, but a wide variety of violet, orange, blue and many other assorted colors mingled amongst the plants and other mixed blooms themselves. For a brief second more, Yami even contemplated reaching out to touch the plants in front of him, before he looked up, stepping further into the gardens themselves.

"By Ra..." The once-thief was moving towards a large tree, which grew kind of twisted-like in the center of the garden, yet to the right at the same time. With an almost shaky hand, the crimson-eyed man reached out, his hands lightly grazing the bark. Out in the desert where he had grown up, there had never been any trees, nor flowers. Sure, he had glimpsed the gardens once or twice when they had pulled that disastrous attack, but he had been too busy being arrested to really pay attention to anything.

"Hello." Yami's hand, which gave an involuntary start as it drew back to his body, was the only indication that he had been even remotely startled by the voice.

"Pharaoh Yugi." Yami said, turning around slowly. "Your... _friend_ said that you summoned me?" The tiny Pharaoh nodded, the crown of upper and lower Egypt resting firmly on his head.

"I did indeed," Yugi replied steadily. Yami remained silent, reaching out to gently stroke one of the violet flowers. He then looked up, fixing Yugi with a piercing stare.

"And?" The once-thief all but growled, withdrawing his hand and placing it at his side.

"We need to talk." Yugi said simply.

"Talk, little Pharaoh? What on earth could we possibly have to talk about?" Yami's eyes narrowed even further at Yugi, and he walked past the Pharaoh with contempt.

"A lot of things, Atemu." Yugi intoned softly, and the crimson-eyed froze in his tracks. Yugi could see Yami's shoulders tense, and he watched as his hands curled and uncurled into fists.

"How long have you know?" Came the chilling reply, and Yugi had to repress a shiver. Yami still hadn't turned to look at him, instead staring out at the twisted tree in front of him.

"Not long. Since yesterday," was Yugi's only reply. He walked up behind the man and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Yami merely growled and pushed him away.

"Don't touch me."

"I..." Yugi felt stung by the slave's words, but he withdrew his hand and rested it at his side, ignoring the tingling feeling that spread through his fingertips. "I just want to know why."

"Why what?" Yami turned around, and Yugi was suddenly witness to enraged, blazing crimson eyes.

"Why did you save me?" Yugi asked. He watched as Yami stiffened again, before the man suddenly turned his gaze back to the tree.

"Because I couldn't let you suffer the same fate as my family."

--

"Do you think it's wise? Leaving Yugi alone with that... that thief?" Jou sputtered, pacing the length of his room.

"Jou, if you keep pacing like that you're going to get your legs all tangled in that white skirt of yours." Malik sniggered as his friend sent him a glare through narrowed honey eyes.

"Not helping, Malik!" Jou snapped.

"Just saying. Wouldn't that be a sight, though?" The crazy Egyptian grinned.

"You're lucky you're my friend, otherwise..."

"Oh, I'm terrified. Trust me. Come off it, Jou. You scare me just about as much as you scare 'that thief.' Which, by the way, isn't much, if anything at all." Malik stood up, walking to the window and peering down at the gardens. "And rest assured, Yugi's not dead yet."

"I don't know what he was thinking! Gallivanting with that rogue..."

"Jou, they're still in the gardens. They're not 'gallivanting' anywhere!" A soft voice said.

"Moot point, Ryou!"

"Not really," Malik smirked. "Now come on. Yugi wouldn't appreciate us spying on him, you know. What do you say we do a bit of 'gallivanting' ourselves? Unless you're scared, Jou. After all, Seth won't be there to protect you."

"Shut up!" Jou cried.

"Malik," Ryou said, a warning in his eyes.

"So, are you game?" Malik asked. He knew Jou wouldn't say no, now.

"You're on!"

--

Jou and Malik hadn't been the only ones watching the slave and the Pharaoh, though. Tepemkau had been observing, too, and now he felt himself growling as the young Pharaoh tried once again to put his hand on the slave's shoulder. This time, Yami did not pull away, instead letting Yugi pull him towards where the pond was.

_Fine, _Tepemkau thought. _Let them talk. It doesn't matter what he does, now._

The councilman's musing were brought up short by a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said dismissively, waving his hand in the direction of the doorway.

"You sent for me?" A silky voice purred, and Tepemkau smirked as Anzu stepped in.

"Yes, actually." The head councilman said, idly strumming his fingers on his desk. "Anzu, what would you do if you could have anything you wanted, hmm? Anything at all?" He watched as a simper appeared on Anzu's face, and he watched as she moved to the window.

"I can think of some things I'd want." She said.

"What if I told you that you could have all those things, and more? What if I told you that you could become the most powerful person in all of Egypt? Unopposed?" He watched as Anzu turned to look at him, lazily tilting her head to the side.

"Go on..."

"What if you could be the head of a powerful nation, and never have to lift a finger to do anything?" Tepemkau continued. "What if you could rule Egypt?"

"Tepemkau, I am but a woman." _That much is obvious, _the lead councilman thought. "A woman cannot rule Egypt; it simply isn't done."

"But a man can." Tepemkau said. "Anzu, if you marry me, and something were to happen to Yugi, you would become the only blood relation, and your husband would become Pharaoh. You could do whatever you want, whenever you want... with whoever you want." Tepemkau explained calmly, watching the girl's eyes flicker to the window again.

"I will... think about it," Anzu said, before she brushed out of the room. "But Yugi isn't going to die anytime soon, Tepemkau. He is young – younger than I, even. So I don't see where you are going with this." And then she was gone.

_Even the mightiest can fall, just as even the youngest can perish, _Tepemkau thought. _After all, you never know when an accident might occur..._

--

"Fuck this!" Bakura growled, throwing a large golden necklace to the ground. His copper-tinted eyes flashed angrily.

"Aww, is something bothering you, Kura?" Marik simpered, grinning insanely..

"We haven't had a good heist since Yami got his ass captured!" Bakura said in irritation.

"No shit, it hasn't even been a week!" Marik replied, rolling his eyes. "How do we know he's not dead, anyways? His death penalty was even bigger than ours!"

"We would have heard something about it already, moron." Bakura replied. "Even if they were just condemning him, we would have heard about it. I mean, they just captured the leader of one of the biggest thief rings ever to grace the sands of Egypt! You'd think they'd make a great show of killing him, if that was indeed what they were going to do. The whole country hates us, Marik—"

"Speak for yourself." That earned a glare from Bakura.

"—the upper class especially," the white-haired thief finished, fixing Marik with a hard stare.

"I fail to see why. You're about as intimidating as a—"

"Hey, guys!" They turned to see Khemet walking towards them, her arms full with cloaks.

"What do you want?" Bakura said, eyes narrowing again, looking as if he wanted to kill Marik for whatever the other had been about to say. Khemet rolled her own eyes, dropping the cloaks onto the table. They were seated in a tavern, discussing what they should do about the whole Yami-situation.

"Simmer down. I have a plan... sort of." Khemet said, tossing them each a cloak. The other two stared at her funny, and the short thief rolled her eyes again.

"Who died and made you leader?" Bakura snarled.

"Aww, come on, Kura. Let the girl talk." Marik smirked as Bakura sent him another glare.

"I told you not to call me that!"

"What—Kura? Would you rather I called you Akefia?" Marik simpered, just managing to dodge the cup that was thrown at him. Khemet, meanwhile, had picked up the necklace Bakura had thrown to the ground and was staring at it.

"Kura, do you have any idea what this is?"

"He sure knows what it isn't," Marik grinned. Bakura glared at him, then back at Khemet.

"Don't call me that!" But Khemet ignored him, continuing on with her thought train.

"I saw this... around the neck of one of the nobles. One of the Pharaoh's friends. You remember, right? When we were scouting out entrances for the big heist?"

"Yes, and we all know how well that worked out," Bakura huffed.

"Aww, lay off, Akef-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Guys!" Khemet said sharply, eyes flashing in annoyance. "Honestly, you're like children!"

"Sorry, mom!" Bakura said with an acerbic tone. Khemet glared at him again.

"Anyways. I know he was the Pharaoh's friend – I saw them talking to each other in the gardens."

"What did he look like?"

"Like you." Khemet said, looking at Bakura simply. "Only nicer. And his skin was pale; his hair longer." She stared at the necklace again, watching as Marik got up and went to get more drinks. "Anyways, what were you two talking about when I came in?"

"We were arguing whether or not Yami was dead. Kura over there said he wasn't, or we surely would have heard about it." Marik said. "Thinks he knows everything."

"I prefer to believe Bakura, actually," Khemet said. "Besides, he..."

"...and they caught him, just like that! Some thief." Bakura wasn't listening to Khemet or Marik anymore. Instead, he was focused on the conversation that was happening a few tables away.

"Some thief? Honda, do you know who you're talking about? This is Egypt's Darkness, here! Knowing him, getting captured was probably some elaborate plan so he could sneak in and... kill the Pharaoh! Or steal things!" Bakura watched the two men. Both had moderately tanned skin, and both were dressed in armour from the neck down. But that was as far as the similarities went. One of them was taller, with brown hair that drew into a point, and brown eyes. The other had black hair, matching his emerald eyes, with a headband-like thing holding it out of his face, though some strands still hung down.

"Come off it, Otogi. I doubt he's that smart."

"Honda... this is the man that has been thieving for six years, and terrorizing Egypt with his band of renegades for the past two years! Are you kidding me? You don't do that kind of stuff without being smart. We don't even know where their hideout is!" The green-eyed man exclaimed. The other guard—Honda—merely snorted.

"Well, that's all going to change."

"What do you mean?" The man called Otogi said, leaning in. Bakura growled. He slid from the table, using the cloak Khemet had gave him to get closer to them without attracting attention.

"Just between you and me," Honda began, "I hear the council is going to try and torture him for information."

"Are you daft, Honda!" Otogi yelled. "They tried that already on the white-haired thief! If he didn't crack, do you honestly think their leader will? Yami isn't called Egypt's Darkness for nothing." Bakura bristled. He still had the scars from that particular event, the most prominent one the one by his eye.

It had been a normal run, one of their first. They had been relying on the noble they were attacking being a docile wuss, but he hadn't. Instead, the lavender-eyed Marik look-alike had diverted their attention while he called the guards, resulting in Bakura's arrest and torture.

Of course, the others had promptly broken into the dungeon and interrupted the process, which was how Yami and the gang _really _became known to the authorities. Bakura remembered how Yami had stood over the man who had ordered the torture, dagger at his throat.

"_Remember this."_Yami had snarled, before carving the Sennen Eye into his neck, with a slash across it. After that day, the slashed eye became a symbol of the thief-band, symbolizing their defiance to the crown. The Sennen Eye itself was the symbol of the royal family, and was carved into all of the Millennium Items, as well as the necklace Yami had worn around his neck for as long as Bakura had known him.

There were even rumours that when Yami was mad, the Eye would glow on his forehead. Pure myth, but whatever made them feel better.

"_He's a demon!"_

"_I tell you, no mortal man can defeat him!"_

"_That eye, it just glowed on his forehead!"_

"_He's not human."_

All of these were applied to their leader, and Bakura knew that it was just to make the defeated (survivors) feel better about themselves. It had never mattered to Yami. In fact, the crimson-eyed man had merely embraced the rumours.

"_It'll help our reputation. Pretty soon people will start giving up without a fight; the pickings will be all the more easy! This could be big, Bakura."_ Yami had laughed.

And it had been.

A chortle brought Bakura back to the conversations of the now four men. Apparently two others had joined, and now they were talking amongst themselves, though they didn't start talking about anything of interest until Otogi and Honda had left.

"Finally!" One of the two guards growled. "Speak an ill word about their precious Pharaoh and they bite your head off!"

"Mmm. If by bite you mean they hold a dagger to your throat and threaten you, then yes." The other replied. Bakura's interest pricked again.

"Egypt needs change. I'm tired of nothing getting done around here!" The one guard growled. "The Romans have been silent; I'll bet we scared them away. That'll teach them to mess with Egypt!"

"That stupid Pharaoh is wasting our men trying to find out what they're doing. Why don't we just attack?" The one man slammed his fists against the table. "Oh yeah, because he's _afraid _to!"

Now, if Bakura hadn't been trained to be alert – thievery required it – he knew he probably wouldn't have heard the enraged gasp from a table to the top right of the guards' table.

"Why that--!" A man with blonde hair stood up, eyes blazing.

"Jou, calm down," another one told him. But the one called Jou didn't listen. Instead, Bakura watched through mildly amused copper-tinted eyes as the blonde stalked over to the guards.

"You bastards!" He yelled so loudly that many of those inside turned to see what was going on, sensing a brawl.

"And who might you be?" The guards sneered, taking in the blonde's appearance. White tunic, sandals, and a couple golden bracelets.

"Take back what you said about the Pharaoh, or I'll flay you!" Bakura heard Jou growl, completely ignoring the guard's question. Bakura sipped his drink, pretending to look disinterested. He idly glanced over at Khemet and Marik to see that they were watching, too.

"Oh you will, will you?"

"Yeah! Come and fight me, coward!"

The guards merely sniggered, before bursting out into full-blown laughter, one of them falling to the ground in amusement. The blonde stood there sputtering, fury etching across his face before he gave a yell and punched the nose of the guard still on his chair.

"That was a big mistake," the man said, wiping his now-bloody nose and lifting Jou up by his tunic.

"Put me down!" Jou sputtered.

"Hey, man! Leave 'im alone!" A call came from the table that the blonde had been sitting at, and Bakura looked over to see... Marik's look-alike? What the hell was he doing here? Bakura let out a growl. He had long since decided it wouldn't be worth pursuing him. Yami had ended the matter by praising the noble for his bravery, anyways.

"Please, sirs! He didn't mean it." A softer voice intoned, and Bakura's eyes widened in interest as he spotted a young man with long white hair, pale skin and deep chocolate eyes. He snuck a glance at Khemet, who as now staring at the necklace she had been holding.

"Like Hell I didn't!" Jou sputtered.

"Shut yer gob, or I'll send you to an early meetin' with Anubis!" The guard snarled.

"You don't have the balls!" The lavender-eyed noble yelled.

"Wanna bet?" The guard proceeded to throw Jou across the table, and the sound of clay cups hitting the floor added to the general egging-on and cheers of the crowd.

"Spoiled brat," the guard muttered.

"Hey! Come here and say that to my face!" The fallen blonde said, and the guard stomped over, kicking the man roughly in the stomach.

"Leave him alone!" Bakura watched the blur of white flit past, as the young man threw himself at the guard, beating on him with his fists only to have his wrist grabbed. It was obvious that the boys were not poor. They all (except Jou) wore clean white tunics, instead of the dusky grays and browns of the peasants. Bakura caught a glint of gold as the lavender-eyed man came to join them – probably coming from the golden earrings that hung from his ears. His own look-alike was adorned with one of those fancy collars.

"Make me!" The guard threw the white-haired man to the ground. By this time the sandy-blonde noble and the other guard that had fallen over laughing were getting into a fight, but Bakura thought it would be time to break it up, especially since it was attracting outside attention. He stood up, ghosting over to the man who was about to bring his fist down on the fallen albino, and grabbed his arm just as he was about to bring it down.

"I think this has gone on long enough," Bakura growled, his voice icy. Behind him he could sense Khemet and Marik, who had come to flank him.

"Who are you to stop us?" The guard asked scathingly, trying to free his wrist from Bakura's grip, which only made the thief tighten it further. The guard gasped.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Bakura growled, before flinging the guard away like he was a nothing more than a worthless piece of silver. "Now get out of here." The two guards, the second one who had been bested by Mini-Marik, merely glared and slunk out of the bar.

"What are you all looking at?!" Marik then called, making his voice rise above those of the whispering bystanders.

Khemet kept silent, her head down and covered by the hood of her cloak.

The tavern slowly returned to normal, the tenants going back to their drinks and muttering amongst themselves. Bakura looked down to the fallen albino, arching a brow.

"Need a hand?" The thief smirked, hauling the young man to his feet and noticing the faint flush that painted his cheeks. Marik, meanwhile, was laughing while Khemet hit him over the head before sauntering over to help Jou up while berating him for his stupidity, though she barely knew him.

"Thanks." Bakura turned back to see the young albino look down at the floor. Bakura just shrugged. The last thing he and his "friends" needed was unnecessary attention, and they surely would have gotten it if the fight hadn't been stopped.

"No problem. What's your name?" Bakura asked.

"Ryou."

--

"That's horrible!" Yugi gasped, watching as Yami growled, throwing a plucked desert lotus onto the smooth waters of the pond. He had finally dragged the thief's past out of him, and was now stunned by what both of them had gone through that night.

"I don't need or want your sympathy!" Yami said, his voice colder than ice. Yugi flinched, averting his eyes. That was why he was so surprised when he looked up to see that Yami had moved, so their faces were level. Yugi had to stop himself from gaping at the features of the other, instead choosing to close his mouth in general and meet the thief's gaze, feeling the other's breath ghost over his face.

"Why?" Yami suddenly growled, moving away.

"Why?" Yugi asked, confused.

"You have everything, Yugi. You have your friends, your family, a palace full of servants and everything you have ever wanted... yet I see you are not satisfied. You want more. There is something that you are missing." Yami's eyes flashed like a storm, and Yugi had to scramble back.

"I-I don't understand."

"You understand, _Pharaoh. _Don't play dumb with me," Yami said. Yugi swallowed, trying to retain his dignity. In all his years as Pharaoh, no-one had ever come close to making him feel as inferior or childish as Yami was right now.

"You make me sound like a monster," Yugi finally said, his teeth clenched as he closed his eyes and tried to hide his anger.

"Maybe you are."

"I'm not like you, Yami. I don't ride around stealing from people. I don't kill innocents! I don't terrorize whole countries! I don't ruin people's lives and cause fear so great that people are afraid to travel!" Yugi's voice grew louder with every sentence. "So you tell me! Who's the real monster here? Because it sure isn't me!" Yugi had expected Yami to yell. He had been bracing himself for whatever the unpredictable man might do; whatever he might try to do. But he was not prepared for the low chuckle that emitted from the thief's throat, nor the way his eyes seemed to sparkle with twisted delight at seeing the young Pharaoh so worked up.

"Bravo, little Pharaoh. Bravo." Yami all but sneered, his tone mocking. Yugi felt his face flush hotly, and his own fists clenched at his side.

"Stop toying with me!" Yugi said, tilting his chin up. And it was then that Yami lived up to his "unpredictable" reputation. As soon as Yami's hand snapped out, the young Pharaoh prepared himself for the strike that never came. He didn't even know why he was taking this from the thief! Nay, slave! He was the Pharaoh! One word, and he could punish Yami however he wanted!

But right now he was too distracted by the hand that had grabbed his chin; distracted by the smouldering crimson hues that burned before him.

And finally, distracted by the soft, moist lips that had suddenly descended on his own, sparking feelings and sensations such as he had never felt before. He could feel the thief smirking against his mouth, just as he could feel a faint nibbling on his bottom lip. Opening his mouth slightly, Yugi allowed the crimson-eyed man to plunder the moist cavern, while he himself slid his eyes shut and moaned softly. The amethyst-eyed Pharaoh had to bite back a mewl of disappointment as Yami withdrew, his eyes slowly sliding open to reveal the still-smirking thief.

"You can't have everything in the world," Yami said, before turning and walking out of the gardens, leaving a thoroughly confused Pharaoh behind.

"_You can't have everything in the world." _Yami's parting words rang in Yugi's mind.

"We shall see... Atemu."

* * *

Cheyenne: Is it? Is it? Yes it is! A finished chapter, oh my!

Khemet: Way to go, Cheyenne.

Cheyenne: *Steals some of Natoya's confetti and throws it* Hooray! *Claps* You know, I think Khemet's main purpose was so I could have a fourth main-gang member. Having just Bakura and Marik when Yami got captured would have seemed like too little, thus... you know. Additionally, I'm pretty sure Egyptians didn't have doors. Like, wooden doors and whatnot. Screw it, I can't really change it, past chapters or now.

Khemet: *Intoning* If you need a life and you know it clap your hands...

Cheyenne: *Still clapping* Wait...

Khemet: *Smirks*

Cheyenne: *Shoves Khemet off the Stage of Author Chats and continues to feel proud that she finished this in one day... again* I seem to do that a lot...

Yami: Gee, I wonder why.

Cheyenne: STFU.

Bakura: I do find myself thinking.

Cheyenne: ...

Marik: I didn't think you were capable of that, Kura!

Cheyenne: *Snickers as Bakura throws a goblet at Marik*

Seth: Please. Try and scrounge whatever dignity any of you may have.

Cheyenne: I have tons of dignity!

Seth: Alosersayswhat?

Cheyenne: What?

Seth: *Smirks* Precisely.

Cheyenne: Grr!

Khemet: Crash and burn.

Cheyenne: You're not helping!

Khemet: Since when have I ever helped with anything?

Bakura: So you admit it!

Khemet: Can it, thief!

Bakura: I'd like to see you try and make me, shrimp!

Cheyenne: Ooo, he went there!

Khemet: STFU, Cheyenne!

Bakura: What are you going to do about it?

Khemet: *Lunges*

Cheyenne: *Sweatdrop* Well, it seems I have some work to do here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and, uh... please review! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 5: Secrets and Lies

Cheyenne: My excuses pale in response to—yeah, so, summer goes by fast and I totally lost track of time in the midst of reading other FanFictions and pretending I had a life while really going to an anime convention, coveting food, playing games with Artemis in our basements, playing Ghost Recon with my other friend, shopping with Shoe/Scooterpup (Calleigh Baby), and occasionally going to a certain theme park that resides nearby. Oh, I also wrote a one-shot. The result of me camping with two younger siblings, two young cousins and my grandparents—did I mention we were stuck in the trailer for, like, two days while it rained?

No matter, I still had tons of fun ^^ But now summer's over, and woes, I'm back in school. In retrospect, I suppose it's a good thing for my stories/readers/reviewers; I seem to be able to keep track of time better, instead of grimly concluding that it has been a month since my last update. SORRY! At least it's not two months like it has been the last one or two times. Or maybe three times. Um...

Khemet: Sweet Jesus, Cheyenne! Are you quite finished? I'm sure no-one wants to hear/cares.

Cheyenne: ...

Khemet: So anyways. I have a suggestion for you. I propose that—

Cheyenne: *Tackles Jou* SAY THE DISCLAIMER.

Khemet: Hey, I wasn't—

Cheyenne: *Shakes Jou* Say it!

Jou: *In between shakes* D-disclaimer! Cheyenne... does not... own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Cheyenne: That's right. Good dog.

Jou: WHAT?!

Cheyenne: *Pales* I wanted to see why Seto has so much fun saying it! *Whimpers*

Pauline: Hurry up, Cheyenne! I didn't pull myself away from that party to listen to you blather on to your yami!

Cheyenne: Past self.

Pauline: Same thing.

Cheyenne: Not really.

Pauline: Get moving! I'm your muse, and I'm finally doing my job! Now go! Rapide! Lui obtenir! Before I unleash the revolutionaries on you!

Cheyenne: Damn Frenchies...

Pauline: *Swats over the head*

Cheyenne: By Frenchies I mean you.

Khemet: Do you insist on insulting anybody and everybody?

Cheyenne: ... Pretty much.

Khemet: *Joins Pauline in hitting Cheyenne over the head*

Cheyenne: Oww! Oww, dammit, I—

_**Pauline and Khemet watch as a vase hits Cheyenne over the head, rendering her unconscious.**_

Jou: ... It was Seth's idea.

Seth: ...

Atem: Good Ra, you... how many of you are there, anyways? Geez Cheyenne!

_**Atem looks down at Cheyenne's unconscious form. Yuugi and Ryou enter from the left of the stage.**_

Yuugi: What do we do now?

Pauline: Khemet and I could right it!

Khemet: "Right" it or "write" it?

Pauline: Both.

Khemet: ...

Atem: We're dead.

Seth: Agreed.

Yuugi: *facepalms*

Pauline and Khemet: The epic duo of Pauline and Khemet has begun!

Pauline: Review replies will be at the end this time, for I fear this has become far too long.

Khemet: *Picks up a note* Cheyenne writes: _This chapter goes out to her long-time friend, even though this friend doesn't know she writes FanFiction. She also wants to say thanks to Natoya for all her support, and to acknowledge all her reviewers/favoriters/alerters and thank them for their patience. Thanks also goes out to Artemis. Because she's Artemis, and therefore amazing. No questions._

Pauline: If I may...?

Khemet: You're the muse. Go ahead.

Pauline: *Coughs* Onward!

Khemet: Wait, wait!

Pauline: What now?

_**Khemet holds up the note Cheyenne had apparently written for no reason but inexplicably and coincidentally had become very useful and much needed.**_

Khemet: Cheyenne's changing the spelling of "Yugi" to "Yuugi." For the first little bit.

Pauline: Are you quite finished?

Khemet: Yep.

Pauline: Okay. Onward!

* * *

To say Yuugi's emotions were muddled would be like saying Jou had a healthy appetite. In other words, only one of the biggest understatements ever to be made in his whole life.

Or at least, he rather thought so. Yuugi sighed. Ever since that... incident in the gardens, he hadn't been thinking clearly. It was like he had two feet planted in two different worlds—or in this case, states of mind. One state of mind faintly resembled a giant cloud; a cloud that hovered about ten centimetres off the ground. Close enough to see, hear, and feel the people around him, yet still not close enough to interact using anything other than a mumbled "Uh-huh", "Sure" or "Whatever."

Sure enough, his friends noticed almost instantly. Well, except maybe Ryou, but it didn't matter since the young noble seemed to be in the same position as his Pharaoh, just not as severe. Instead, the young man just seemed to space out a lot, as if deep in thought. Another fact that didn't go unnoticed by Jou or Malik. Even Seth had begun to take notice.

But Yuugi couldn't do anything about it. His mind was plagued—plagued with thoughts of the crimson-eyed former-thief. He was all the young Pharaoh could see, no matter where he went; no matter what he did.

_You can't have everything in the world..._

For weeks—two at least—those words had rung though Yuugi's head. They had been his focal point, his obsession, and, to an extent, his goal. He wanted to stop thinking about them. Wanted to stop seeing the man that possessed his mind wherever he went.

He had only seen Yami—no, Atemu—three times since then. Once, when he was walking down the hall; the second time when the man had been serving the tables—albeit grudgingly—during Yuugi's banquet. Of course, the thief had managed to make Yugi feel as uncomfortable as possible while doing it. Because as if Yuugi wasn't having enough trouble already keeping his emotions in check, Yami was doing everything as slowly and seductively as he could.

And damn, was that man irresistible. He was just as bad as any temptress—perhaps even better—gods and goddesses included. Yuugi had to resist the urge to jump him right then and there, stayed only by the presence of his councilmen, the nobles, the priests and above all, his friends, as well as his confusing and unsorted alien emotions.

It was absolute torture.

"Yuge? Hey, Yuge! Earth to Pharaoh! Oh for Ra's sake! YUUGI!"

"... Yeah?" Yuugilooked up from the pieces of papyrus he had been staring at for the past five minutes, his wide amethyst eyes blinking in confusion. "Is there something you need?"

"ARGH!" Jou threw his hands into the air, and you can bet that if there wasn't a death penalty for assaulting a Pharaoh, Jou would have slapped Yuugi right there.

"It's not what Jou needs, my Pharaoh, but rather a matter of what _Egypt_needs." Yuugi looked up as Mahado entered, flanked by Seth. This was rather funny, as Seth towered over pretty much everyone, unlike Yami, who was shorter...

_Dammit! _Yuugi groaned out loud, flopping his head down on his desk which, in turn, caused a rather loud _Thump!_to reverberate throughout the room. For a moment there was only silence as the occupants of said room—that being Seth, Mahado, Jou, Malik and Ryou—stared at their previously thought-to-be-sane Pharaoh.

... Well, except Ryou, but that was beside the point. Really.

"Yuugi?" Ryou broke out of his reveries long enough to voice his Pharaoh and friend's name. "Yuugi, are you all right?"

"No, I am—" Yuugi started to yell, but he swallowed and shook his head. "I am feeling really sick. I think it was something I ate," the young Pharaoh said, looking down and clasping his hands together tightly. He hadn't told them about the garden incident, for if they ever found out...

_You are a Pharaoh! _Yuugi thought to himself._ Act like one!_

"I've been feeling a little... queasy lately. I'm sorry for worrying you all," Yuugifinished, adding a firm edge to his voice. His friends—save perhaps Seth— looked at him hesitantly. But finally Jou nodded, smiling.

"Okay, Yuuge. If you say so." The honey blonde was convinced his life-long friend would never lie to them, so he shook his head and grinned. "Hey! Did I tell you all about what happened the other day? There was a fight in the bar!"

"... That was two weeks ago, Jou." Malik said, grinning smugly.

"Whatever."

"When were you guys in a bar?!" Yuugi said, finally snapping out of it to stare at his friends incredulously. By the looks on the faces of both Seth and Mahado, it was clear this was news to them, too.

"What are you talking about, pup?" Seth was the first to recover, to no-one's great surprise.

"What, I didn't tell you?" Jou grinned. He turned to his friends, a broad smile stretching across his face. Malik looked like he wanted to bury his head under... anything, but since he could not, he settled for chucking a piece of Yuugi's Sennet board at the laughing blonde.

Ryou looked up, smiling, his eyes shining. He had been there, but he wanted to hear this.

"Okay, so. We were at a tavern, right?" Jou said, getting high on all the attention. Which, in retrospect, was a little out of character, but really he was just rejoicing in the fact that Ryou and Yuugi both were playing attention instead of staring off into space like they usually did these days.

"We've established that," Malik grumbled, flopping down onto Yuugi's bed with a moan.

"So we decided to sneak out, you know—loosen up a bit!" Jou flushed lightly as Seth glared at him. Mahado just raised one eyebrow, a silent sign to continue. Yuugi was smiling faintly.

"Anyways," Jou continued, "we ran into Otogi and Honda. You know, the guards and such? Well, after they left, a few of the lower-guards started talking trash—"

"About what?" Yuugi interrupted.

"—about things in general." Malik looked up. He knew Jou wanted to spare Yuugi's feelings, but wouldn't his actions be better explained if the blonde just told the truth?

"Go on, Jou." Ryou intoned, his large chocolate eyes blinking once.

Jou went on to tell about how they had all gotten into a brawl, watching in satisfaction as Yuugi's jaw dropped. Hell, even Seth looked shocked. Mahado? Well, now he had two raised eyebrows.

"So then I punched him right in the nose!" Jou said proudly.

"Yup. Wait, was that before or after they picked you up like you were just a twig and threw you into one of the tables?" Malik asked innocently, laughing as Jou sent him a glare.

"He threw you into a table?!" Seth shouted.

"Jou!" Yuugi cried. Jou looked sheepish.

"Yeah. Before that, I had stood up to give poor ol' Jou here a hand," Malik said, standing up. "Even Ryou tried to get them to calm down, though that did little good." Malik then recounted the conversational aspects—the threats, the insults, etcetera. "He kicked Jou, and then Ryou jump in. Gee, Ryou, I didn't know you were that violent!"

"Shut up!" Ryou cried. He looked down. "Besides, it's not like I did any good. I probably just made it worse! He just threw me aside like I was a... a worthless piece of jewellery!" Suddenly they all stopped talking, remembering what had happened after that.

"... What is it?" Yuugi asked tentatively, his eyes betraying his curiosity and apprehension. He was the only one to speak, Mahado deciding to keep silent and Seth being too angry to even holler.

"Well, it's hard to... explain..." Jou said slowly.

"After they knocked Ryou down, we had some... help." Malik said. "There were three of them. A man with white hair and a scar by his one eye; a taller version of me with wilder hair and some strange kohl lines; and a... well, the last figure was cloaked, but I could tell it was a female." Malik winced, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Of course it came quick.

"AND YOU LET THEM GO? THOSE WERE THE REMAINING MEMBERS OF YAMI'S GANG!" They all whirled towards the door to see Akhenaden, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Please, hear us out!" Malik pleaded. "They helped us, really, they did!"

"If they hadn't come, we'd be much worse off!" Ryou put in, his eyes wide.

"IT DOES NOT MATTER! IF WORD OF THIS GETS OUT—"

"Which it surely will with you yelling like that!" This comment was voiced like a whip, cracking through the air and stunning them all into silence as they stared past Akhenaden and into the enraged ruby eyes of the leader of the famed thieves in question himself.

No-one knew why Yami got away with as much as he did. He spoke disrespectfully to almost everyone, and he refused to do demeaning tasks. Yet he was never punished for it, and it wasn't even Yugithat forbade them. Everyone was too scared to try arguing with him, even though he was "just a slave" and therefore virtually worthless in the Egyptian hierarchy.

"I'd be surprised if all of Egypt didn't hear you," Yami growled, his eyes sparking. Yugi quickly averted his gaze, his hands suddenly feeling clammy as the strange feeling once again swept through his body. An uncomfortable silence passed; one that ended with the once-thief whirling around and stalking down the halls, muttering to himself and pressing his hands against his head.

"I think..." Yugi said, "that we should continue this conversation... another time."

"Yeah, like never," Jou agreed. Akhenaden glared at them all, but he turned on his heels and breezed down the hallway. Seth and Mahado followed shortly, which left only Yugi, Malik, Jou and Ryou in the room.

"I have a council meeting," Yugi finally sighed. Then he got up and left as well.

"So..." Jou said. "Anyone up for a game of Sennet?"

* * *

Yami walked down the hallways of the palace, mumbling to himself as he did so. It wasn't as if the past two weeks had been easy for the former thief, either. In fact, it had been far from it. And now that he had discovered his gang had been spotted in Thebes, well...

"Ra, dammit!" Yami cursed into the hallway, smashing his fists into the wall and ignoring the strange, fearful looks he received from passing slaves. Those that did attempt anything were quickly silenced by a fierce glare that sent them scurrying away, their heads down.

Suddenly the corridor was quiet. Again, too quiet. Yami whirled around, but was too late to stop the hand that clamped over his mouth, pulling him into a nearby room. He was about to snarl at the intruder... that was, until he noticed the copper-tinted glint of dark brown eyes.

"Bakura!"

"The one and only," Bakura smirked.

"Thank Ra for small mercies."

"Khemet!"

"Hey, what about me?"

"Marik!"

"Hey, Yami." Khemet said, laughing once. "You didn't honestly think we'd do nothing, did you?"

"I told you to leave me." Yami said, crossing his arms firmly.

"Yeah, well, you obviously don't know us as well as you thought you did." Khemet cracked a small smile, watching as her leader leaned against the wall, arms still crossed.

"How in the name of Osiris did you even get in here?" And with that, the Egyptian-version of Twenty Questions began.

**--**

It wasn't until an hour had passed that the three Egyptians left. From the three of them, Yami gathered that Bakura had gained them entrance to the palace, though how he knew where to go remained a mystery, since Yamiwas really the only one that had explored the palace so thoroughly. Still, he supposed he shouldn't be complaining, though he couldn't stop the apprehensive feelings he was experiencing towards his whole thing. The palace had eyes and ears everywhere. If anyone had overheard...

"Stupid Bakura, stupid Marik, stupid Khemet, stupid... Pharaoh..." Yami groaned, quickly turning the corner. He was well aware that almost all of Egypt hated his band of renegades, and he also knew that they would not hesitate to turn them in for the rather hefty reward, should they be found out. Yami kept walking, turning more corners and walking down more hallways. He suddenly stopped when he realized where his feet had taken him, though he supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised. He was standing at the door to the gardens. And not just the gardens, but the Pharaoh's personal gardens.

The thief clenched his hands at his side as his breathing quickened, and he mentally cursed himself for it. What was wrong with him? A sigh. This wasn't the first time Yami had subconsciously walked this path, and he was beginning to despair that it wouldn't be the last. For a moment he just stood there, forcing his breathing to return to normal.

_Dammit... _All Yami could think about was the Pharaoh. His sparkling amethyst eyes, the way he seemed to command such respect and admiration from his subjects through kind gestures...

Yami... no, Atemu... Who was he, now?

"You can go in, if you want. I give you my permission." Yami had to stop himself from whirling around at the soft voice that spoke from behind him. Instead, he managed—only just—to control his body's natural instincts, instead remaining perfectly still.

"You are very persistent, little Pharaoh." The thief intoned simply.

"I am Pharaoh—"

"The morning and the evening star. I know," Yami said.

"That wasn't what I was going to say. You are very impatient, did you know that?" A grunt was Yami's only response.

Another sigh, this time coming from Yugi himself. "I am the Pharaoh," he said again. "If I was not persistent, I wouldn't get very far, now would I?"

"I suppose not." Yami was very careful with his answers. For a moment there was silence, but for once it was a comfortable one.

"I should be going," Yami said stiffly. He turned to go, but a hand grabbing at his arm forced him to halt.

"Wait!" Yugi said.

"No, little Pharaoh, I must go," Yami replied, trying to pull away.

"I order you to stop!" For once the both of them were too stunned to stop. Yugi was the first to react, covering his mouth with his hand. "I-I'm sorry, I-I..."

"No, you are Pharaoh. Your word is law. I am yours to command," Yami said, his voice a flat monotone. This only made Yugi feel even more guilty as his eyes briefly met the thief's, only to see not a single emotion dwelling within them.

"Stop it."

"Stop what, my Pharaoh?" Yami said, causing Yugi to hiss in frustration.

"Stop this... Pharaoh-thing."

"You are the Pharaoh, as you have pointed out," Yami said, his voice still irritatingly flat. "I must obey you, for your word is law." Yami's words hurt Yugi more than the crimson-eyed man could have known.

"It doesn't... I mean, you don't..." Yugi sighed. "Very well. I'll... leave you to your duties, then." Yugi turned to go, and it was his turn to be startled when Yami's voice, cracking slightly, whispered a faint "Wait!" Yami hung his head, his voice losing the sharp edge it usually held.

"Why do you pursue this so?"

"Because whether or not you care, and whether or not you think it was a mistake and wish you had never done it, you still saved my life, and I will be forever grateful, regardless of the fact that you tried to kill me, Atemu." Yami seemed to freeze at that.

"Knowing what you know, why have you not tried to kill me yet, little Pharaoh?" Yami said, though his whole body was tense. Yugi stared at him levelly through almost half-lidded eyes. Reaching up, he gently brushed Yami's cheek, watching as the crimson-eyed man shuddered under the simple touch.

"You... captivate me." Yugi breathed. "I have never met a person would who willingly insult my high priests and myself without any regard for his own safety; never met a person who would openly stare his own death in the face as you did, Atemu." Yugi's hand dropped slowly, and he watched as Yami glanced away.

"That doesn't..." Yami said, visibly shaken. "Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what?" Yugi's voice was hushed.

"That... that name, that... that reminder..."

"Because it is _your _name, Atemu," Yugi said. They were silent again, listening to nothing as the corridors slowly dimmed from the setting sun.

"Why do you try?" Yami's eyes were closed, his head still turned slightly towards the wall. His profile was outlined as the shadows started to set in, making Yugi's own breath hitch slightly.

"Because I..." Yugi was suddenly interrupted as Seth called his name, running down the hall in a most undignified way.

"Pharaoh Yugi! The Romans are attacking the palace!"

* * *

Pauline: And we're done!

Cheyenne: *Groans and wakes up, rubbing her head* What hit me?

Khemet: Seth.

Seth: Traitor.

Khemet: I was never on your side to begin with.

Bakura: You're not on anybody's side.

Khemet: That depends. Is there anyone else here against Bakura? If so, I'm on their side.

Atemu: I see why you're Cheyenne's yami.

Khemet: What does that mean, Pharaoh?

Cheyenne: Don't fight!

_**Cheyenne jumps up and tries to step between them, but instead staggers and falls face-first to the ground.**_

Cheyenne: See, the chivalrous thing to do would have been to catch me.

_**Yugi steps into the room and trips over one of the cords littered about the Stage of Author Chats. Atemu catches him gently.**_

Atemu: *Smirks* Like that?

Cheyenne: Go to hell.

Atemu: Being in your story is hell enough, thanks.

Bakura: *Whistles appraisingly* Nice one, Pharaoh.

Atemu: *Inclines head and nods*

Khemet: Are we going to wrap this up quickly?

Cheyenne: NO WE MUST HAVE REVIEW REPLIES.

Khemet: ...

--

**Natoya: ***Is huggled* *Huggles back* I felt it was time for a bit of fluff, eh? ;) I wonder if Yugi'll ever get through to our dear Yami. He seemed to.

**WeeEEee:** I just wanted to spice things up a bit. Oh, and I edited the author chats and moved them to the end on the last chapter, and there were no random interventions in this chapter for once! EVERYONE THAT MENTIONED THE AUTHOR-CHAT STUFF MUST BE PROUD OF ME, NOW. ^^

**Artemis:** *Pokes the above caps*

**Darkie:**You'd think they would, aye? Pissing Seth off is not exactly something you'd do if you planned on living a long, fulfilled life. But I never said they were smart ^^ Alsoalsoalso I told you I'd have it out sometime this week 8D Can I has review? xP

**luvanime4life:**I updated a month sooner than usual! Be proud 8D xDDD

**weecookie: **Why thank you ^^

**Lil' Dark: **No worries ^^ I tend to do that a lot 8D I'll review, like, ten chapters after not reviewing and slam my head into a desk for it xDD And a Monarchshipping story, eh? Well, let me know if I inspire you for anything, or if you decide to act on that, oui? Thanks for the review(s)!

**.hold:** ! I hope your sister didn't end up killing you! That would make me very sad as you are an awesome person D: And don't worry, I shall not give up! I promise!

**Mana:***Dies from ego asplosion* Huzzah! *Glomps* ... And no kidding, right? xD

**The Black Magician:** Why thank you 8D

**Soraki01:** Blast, everyone forgets Tepemkau's name! Even me! I'm so amazing x) Anyways, I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the reviews!

--

Cheyenne: Aaannnddd... TADAA! Also, another note: I think the Romans were seriously overdue. Sorry about that xD I was waiting for a good time =O Was this good, or are you all going to come chasing after me with pitchforks and torches? *Dives under desk just in case*

I AM VERY AWARE I SWITCHED THE SPELLING OF YUUGI'S NAME HALFWAY THROUGH THE CHAPTER SHUT UP. It helped me write his character better. I like the one "u" for this story.

Also, yes, I will have missed some errors—I always do. I will eventually clear them out, however, so thar x3

Khemet: Done yet?

Cheyenne: ... Yup.

Khemet: Good.

Pauline: I find your lack of Anzu disturbing.

Cheyenne: All in the name of Plot and Character Development, my muse -coughtraitorcough-

Pauline: ... *Pulls out musket*

Cheyenne: ... And that's all, folks!

Khemet: Isn't that line trademarked?

Cheyenne: What isn't these days? Honestly.

Seth: End the chapter or I will kill you. In fact, I might just do that anyways!

Cheyenne: See you all next time! Please review and tell me how I did x) I know this chapter wasn't the best, especially the beginning. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll try to update again soon! Feel free to PM me to death (on this account and Dark Egypt) if you want me to get my lazy ass moving xDD I already have the next three chapters planned out, so, umm... PLEASE PM me to death? It will keep me focused xDD

... And may the force be with you!

**An Important Note:** As today is 9/11, I wish to extend a moment of silent thanks to the some 200 firefighters that gave up their lives trying to save others. They didn't have to go in there, they didn't have to try and save those people, but they did, and many of them--and their families--paid dearly for it. I don't know why I cry every single time I hear of a firefighter that has died, but it touches me, even though I have not been directly (or even indirectly, really) affected by the event itself. I would also like to extend my condolences to anybody that lost someone close to them during this disaster. *Bow head*

**Editorial Note:** For some strange reason FanFiction wouldn't put this chapter up. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this caused.


	7. Chapter 6: Blood and Tears

Cheyenne: Hola, everyone! 'Tis I! You know you love me. Seriously.

Pauline: *Cocks her musket* On account of your impossibly long/annoying author chats, I hereby place you under arrest.

Cheyenne: You can't do that.

Pauline: Then I refuse to be your muse.

Cheyenne: Yeah? Well... I don't need you. I have Zorro!

Zorro: ... *Slashes a "Z" into the wall*

Cheyenne: Goddammit we just repaired that! *Mutters something about her wall-eating dog*

Zorro: *Slashes a "Z" into someone's arm*

Cheyenne: ... Yeah, this ain't workin' out...

Zorro: *Rides around the room on temperamental horse* I fight for my friends!

Ike: Hey! He stole my overused catchphrase D:

Cheyenne: ... You're not even in this fandom!

Ike: Neither is he! *Looks over at Zorro who has by now set a field on fire in a giant flaming "Z"*

Cheyenne: ...

Jou: Cheyenne doesn't own YGO!

Cheyenne: *Running away from Zorro who's chasing her with his horse and waving his sword around*

Khemet: And... onward!

* * *

_Pandemonium is a word often used to describe mass amounts of chaos and confusion. Bedlam, mayhem, they're pretty much all terms used to describe this same word. It's very easy to get swept up in pandemonium, especially when you just happen to be wandering down the hallways at the exact same time an enemy attack is announced. Girl or not—royal or not—you will be buried in the ensuing uproar that is sure to follow._

_And princess Anzu was certainly no exception._

"Excuse me!" Anzu sputtered angrily as a man—obviously a noble—dressed in white robes shoved past her, leaving her glaring after his retreating back as she struggled to weave her way through the suddenly crowded halls of Thebes' royal palace. "Let me pass!" She exclaimed, trying to raise her voice over the frantic yelling of the mob.

Yet even though she was cousin to the Living Horus, she was still invisible to them. Or at least, she was, until one of Yugi's High Priests—Shada, was it?—grabbed her arm and broke a path through the crowd, dragging the young woman until they were out of harm's way.

Or rather, as out of harm's way as one could be in the midst of a Roman attack, as Anzu soon found out.

"Princess Anzu!" A guard hurried up to them, and Anzu was left sharing helplessly as Shada suddenly vanished. "We must get you away from here! It isn't safe!" The guard exclaimed, his wide eyes betraying his fear. Anzu merely blinked.

"Why? What's going on?" She demanded, trying to retain her dignity and smooth down her appearance.

"The Romans, princess! They've attacked!" Even Anzu's normally hot blood ran cold, and her blue eyes widened with barely contained fear.

"By all means! Get me out of here!" She cried. The young guard nodded and began dragging her throughout the palace—Anzu was beginning to detect a pattern here—until, that is, she spotted her cousin.

And _him._

The two—no, three; she could see Seth following them closely—were hurrying towards the great hall, where a large racket was. Yugi, while still dressed in Pharaohic garb, had both body armour and a helmet, as did Seth. The former thief, Yami, just had his usual tunic, though Anzu caught the deadly glint of a silver sword hanging at his side as they moved. In fact, everywhere Anzu looked there were people rushing off into battle. Some of the younger ones looked afraid, but most of the older veterans of Yugi's guard had either hard to eager faces.

Anzu suddenly stopped, stiffening her spine. _No! _she thought. _I will not run! Not again! I will not leave Yugi to fight this battle alone again!_ This thought brought an unwelcome onslaught of memories upon her, and tears pricked her eyes as she remembered how desolated she was when she thought her cousin had been killed, only to cry in relief when she saw him alive, being helped by another boy who had been shadowed by the moon's light. She remembered weeping with relief as their guard—whose son, she reflected, was the young guard who had tried to help her flee only moments ago—spotted Yugi that first time.

And she remembered her loneliness when her uncle died, forcing Yugi into an unwanted position as Egypt's ruler. She remembered chasing after him that first week, begging him to come play, only to receive a tired "I'm busy, Anzu" as a response.

Maybe that was why she had turned to the affections of other men; to fill the empty void that lay within her.

Anzu closed her eyes as her hands clenched at her fists. When she opened them again, they burned with an angry fire. It wasn't fair! Those Roman's had stolen _everything _from her!

Well. While she knew she wouldn't be able to fight, she sure as hell wasn't going to hide like some pathetic... girl!

Anzu, who had began to run again, climbed upon a statue that stood in the refuge courtyard, where many of the nobles—and even some guards and councilmen—had come to hide.

"Look at you all!" Anzu snarled at them, her eyes sparking. "Cowards, the lot of you! You, who would leave your brethren to fight _your _battles! You empower courage! Loyalty! You preach devotion! Selflessness! Yet at the first sign of trouble you're here: cowering like dogs! Well, that's what you are! Cowardly dogs! Hell, even dogs have more courage than you! Well, I won't stand it! Your brothers are dying in there! They are fighting for your country! You enjoy your wealth, your power; well what if I was to tell you that if Egypt falls here, you would no longer have these privileges? These luxuries?" The girl took a deep breath, aware that everyone was now staring at her silently.

"Your Pharaoh is in there fighting for you. And what are you doing for him in return?" Anzu snarled. "I ask you to fight! Help your Pharaoh! Your country! People will sings songs in your honour; tell tales of your bravery! What happens if you stay here?" Anzu paused again. "A man you know as Egypt's Darkness is in there fighting. Fighting for a country who has done nothing for him. He, a once a thief and now merely a slave, is fighting for you. _He _has more worth than you right now." She let her final sentence hang, and it was then that people started rising, grabbing discarded swords and brandishing them with deadly menace.

"For the Pharaoh!" The people screamed, rushing from the courtyard towards the main hall.

It was then Anzu realized she was all alone. Well, she couldn't be a hypocrite to her own cause! She couldn't fight. Anzu wasn't as idiot. She didn't know the first thing about swordplay. This, however, did not weaken her resolve as she upped her pace. Veering, she moved down the deserted halls of the palace, moving towards a side door she knew led to the throne room.

--

"Gods damn it all!" Jou cried as the palace suddenly shook liked it had been hit by a ten-ton ramming pole. He stared at the fallen Sennet pieces and threw his arms into the air. "AND I WAS WINNING! WHY?!" He fell to his knees, staring up at the ceiling as Malik calmly rearranged his pieces, which had somehow managed to stay up.

"I guess this means I win!" The Egyptian smirked. Jou glared at him, and over in the corner Ryou was laughing softly.

"We're sorry, Jou," the albino spoke. Jou merely grumbled, pulling himself off the ground. Ryou gently handed him one of the pieces, which he promptly threw at Malik, who was laughing until it struck him square in the forehead.

"Why you—"

The door burst open and the two fighting friends and Ryou turned to look at their intruders.

"The Romans are attacking the palace! We've been ordered to bring you to safety!" One of the guards said, as if reading from a papyrus scroll.

"Where's Yuge?" Jou demanded, straightening his robes. The guard remained impassive.

"He's fighting, sir."

"Fighting?" Ryou gasped softly.

"Seth?" Jou asked, voice becoming small.

"He's with them."

"What about the thief?" Malik said lazily.

"We saw him running with Priest Seth and the Pharaoh, sir."

"So we're expected to run and hide while our best friend—"

"—and lover—"

"—and _lover"_—Malik glared at Jou—"fight? Ra forbid! Especially since that former thief could decide to turn on our buddy and stab him in the back at any moment!" Jou was up in a heartbeat as Malik finished speaking, grabbing the guard's sword. "Step aside or I'll run you through myself!" The guard smirked.

"Priest Seth said you'd say that." Jou and Malik merely snorted. Then they realized Ryou had been awfully quiet. When they turned to see him, he was gone.

"Looking for me?" Ryou was already at the doorway. He had basic armour on, and a sapphire-encrusted sword dangled at his hip. "Well come on, you two! Let's go help Yugi!" Ryou's cry was met with shouts from Malik and Jou, who quickly followed him.

"Master, wait." Jou stopped as his friends rushed forward, scowling at the guard who had restrained him.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Priest Seth has a job for you to do..."

--

Anzu stopped as she heard screaming. The screams of the dying; the dead; the angry. The need for vengeance filled the air, and Anzu felt her own join them. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the room, sliding in and running behind a column that was shadowed by the throne before she allowed herself to fully take in the scene.

There was blood everywhere. The once white-and-gold floors and walls of the throne room were stained with crimson; bright and dull alike. The sight was so horrifying that the Egyptian princess had to cover her mouth and plug her nose to stop herself from throwing up all over the place, thus giving away her position. Instead, she merely ducked behind the pillar, breathing heavily.

_Gods! The blood... It's everywhere! _Anzu started to feel dizzy, and she had to put her hand on the column to support her.

And still the screams rose.

_Yugi! I'm sorry!_ Anzu sobbed silently. She knew she had to look; to make sure her cousin was still alive, if nothing else. Sure, most people thought she was a useless whore and didn't care, but Yugi was the only family she had left! She didn't want to rule Egypt, and if he died, she would be the only surviving relative! By law, she would have to marry some boorish, power-hungry man and produce heirs!

Anzu peeked around the cylindrical structure, her blue eyes scanning the crowd for the Pharaoh. She didn't find him at first, instead her eyes resting on three individuals with confusion. One, a white-haired man with a billowing crimson cloak, had just brutally stabbed a guard in the throat. The other, a sandy-haired man with a purple cloak, was fighting next to... a girl?! This girl had chestnut hair and a simple brown cloak. Who the hell were they? Anzu shook her head. It didn't matter. She needed to find Yugi! Yugi was all that mattered.

_There! _Yugi was fighting with Seth, but Anzu knew the two wouldn't be able to keep it up forever, especially when...

"Pharaoh!" Anzu's eyes trailed to Tepemkau, who was waving his arms wildly. Yugi, who looked confused, lowered his blade as his head councilman continued to jump around and wave wildly, pointing in many directions at once and looking as if he was trying to tell him something.

But Anzu, who was hiding behind the column at the back of the councilman, was the only one to see the cold gleam in his eyes as he turned away from Yugi.

Anzu opened her mouth to scream as a dead soldier suddenly fell at her feet, having been thrown from somewhere, she was sure. But it was then she noticed Yami. The thief. He was battling a guard, but it looked more like a dance; a dance Yami was clearly winning. Satisfied as Yami stabbed the guard through the stomach, she allowed her eyes to return to the group of strange individuals, only to find them gone. A quick sweep of the bloodstained room revealed that they had moved. The man in the crimson cloak was fighting next to Ryou, while the sandy-haired man was fighting next to Malik. Jou was nowhere to be found.

That's when Anzu saw it. Him. The Roman soldier that was sneaking up behind her cousin, who was completely unaware because he was trying to see what Tepemkau was telling him. "YUGI!" Anzu's scream somehow managed to reach her cousin, who turned to her in surprise. Anzu screamed again, but then she noticed another person moving.

Yami! The crimson-eyed man was running as fast as he possibly could, a deadly determination in his eyes as he reached her cousin. Anzu was sure he was about to kill Yugi when he raised the silver blade he held, but she sagged with relief as his own sword met that of Yugi's would-be murderer.

They whirled around, blades sparking as they met with such force that Anzu found herself wondering how their arms stayed attached.

"NO!" Anzu snapped back to the fight to hear her cousin's anguished cry. The same cry she had heard all those years ago. Instantly, Anzu's mind snapped back to that horrible day, six years ago.

Visions of blood poured through her mind as she remembered her parents; how they had stayed behind to give them a chance to escape. She remembered crawling back to see them die as Shiamon, the guard, tried to pull her screaming form away. She remembered how hopeless she'd felt after she'd thought Yugi was dead, too. She had screamed; she had cried the names of those she had lost, anguish and despair coloring her tone as it never had before.

Only this time, it was Yugi screaming, and Yami was the one with the sword in his body.

--

_Pain... searing pain... _There was no other feeling like this as Yami felt the sword enter his side, right above his hip. He staggered back as the guard twisted the blade, a sneer on his face, before pulling the stained sword back out.

_I can't... I can't move... _Yami's head started spinning. He looked down at his hands. _Blood... _His blood...

He heard someone call his name. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he turned to see Yugi scream his name. Only it wasn't his name... was it? His name was Atemu, not Yami... Right?

"Yami! Yami!" Yugi cried. Yami snarled and turned towards the guard, who wore a triumphant expression as he moved in to finish the job.

"If there's one thing I've learned," Yami gasped, struggling to his feet. "It's that you shouldn't count your victories until you're sure your opponent is beaten." Yami's wrist suddenly flicked, and a gurgled cry was heard from the guard as he scrambled to pull out the dagger that had found embedded in his throat. Yami fell to his knees again, hands clutching his side. He was about to fall back when he felt someone catch him, and he opened heavy crimson orbs to see the tear-streaked face of his Pharaoh.

"Yami! Yami! Don't die!" Yugi cried, supporting the ex-thief's head and shoulders, grasping his hand with his own free hand.

"That's... that's not my name..." Yami whispered, already half lucid. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Atemu!" Yugi called instead, and Yami offered a faint smile. He lightly reached up to brush the Pharaoh's cheek, before it went limp.

"Atemu! Atemu, please!"

"I'm sorry, little one..." Atemu felt the last of his strength leave his body then, and the scene clouded over with black. The last thing he heard was the screaming of his Pharaoh mingling with the dying cries of the people all around him.

* * *

Cheyenne: Mwah ha ha! Short chapter. Good news: Hopefully you won't have to wait long for the nest one, hmm?

Khemet: You're an ass.

Cheyenne: Out of all the yamis and past selves I could have gotten, and I got stuck with the insensitive jerk.

Yugi: You... you... *Glares at Cheyenne*

Atemu: Did you just _kill _me?

Cheyenne: ... Maybe.

Atemu: *Starts off on a rant*

Cheyenne: *Presses the "Mute" button*

Zorro: *Slashes a "Z" across your computer screen*

Cheyenne: *Shoves Zorro in a closet* I am not responsible for any of the damage he causes!

Seth: Just end the damn thing!

Cheyenne: Read and review! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 7: The Games We Play

Cheyenne: *Twitches* Just deleted the original content. Must keep promise. Must keep promise...

Jou: *Vaguely wonders what she's mumbling about* Disclaimer! Cheyenne does not own YGO!

Cheyenne: You're getting better at this, Jou! Notes at the end.

* * *

"_I'm sorry, little one..."_

The doors to the throne room suddenly burst open, and a man with honey blonde hair and matching eyes stormed in, leading a small army of soldiers as he did so. Priest Seth smirked. Help had arrived.

Within moments, the invaders started to retreat. Those that were lucky enough to make it to the doors fled into the city streets, and if they were super lucky, the desert. Those that were not were either killed or arrested by the Egyptian guards.

Soon, the hall was clear of the invading forces, leaving the moans of the dead, dying, and heartbroken to echo throughout the air.

"Someone, get Isis!"

"My Pharaoh, please calm down!" This comment was ignored by the frantic young man, who was desperately screaming for the High Priestess and healer.

"My Pharaoh, please! This isn't going to help him!" The High Priest tried to calm his Pharaoh, and he almost smiled when it seemed to work, only to have his blood freeze when Yugi turned to look at him, a cold glint such as no one had ever seen him use coloring his bright amethyst irises.

"Get. Isis." A pause. "_Now."_

Seth paused himself, but he bowed his head, teeth clenching. "Very well." He stood up and swept out of the room, Jou following from where he had been standing silently to the side.

The Pharaoh, for his part, continued to sit on the floor, supporting the fallen thief. Yami's face was pale and waxen from the loss of blood, and Yugi could feel his pulse getting fainter and fainter.

"Hurry... hurry!" He whispered. His hand tightened around the unconscious thief's, and his eyes pricked with tears. "If you die, Atemu, I'll kill you myself," the small man said wryly. Could the other even hear him, or was he already too far gone to save? The thought made Yugi stop breathing for a second. No! No he was not! They'd save him! He'd be all right!

"My pharaoh!" Yugi looked up as Isis rushed into the room. "Seth said you needed—" She cut off her own sentence when she identified the man Yugi was holding. Her face hardened. "Your Highness..."

"You will save him, or so help me..." The hard edge in both his tone and eyes shocked Isis into nodding mutely. Yugi never spoke to anyone like that! "Y-yes, my pharaoh," she whispered, glancing over at Seth whose eyes had narrowed into slits.

"Hn." Seth tapped his chin thoughtfully, observing the gentle way his pharaoh held Atemu/Yami—his cousin.

"I'll see to it right away," Isis said, watching as Yugi gently brushed one of Yami's golden bangs from his face. Such a change... Where was the companionate, calm pharaoh she had come to know and respect?

"See to it that you do." With that Yugi rose, leaving Isis to tend to the wounded man, ever conscious that with each step he was moving farther and farther from the one person who had come to mean more to him than he'd ever know.

--

"Yugi... Yugi..." Jou lightly waved his hand in front of the other man's face, but he finally had to give it up as a lost cause when he received no response. "Dammit, Yugi, you need to—" Jou swallowed as Yugi turned to glare at him.

"Go away, Jou," Yugi said, causing his friend to look slightly hurt.

"Yuge, I didn't mean—"

"Leave me alone!" Yugi said, this time another edge making itself known. Jou flinched. "Yeah, uh, okay," he said quietly, backing out of the room. "I'll leave you alone, Yugi." This last part was said with an infusion of bitter anger, which caused Yugi to turn.

"Look, Jou, I didn't mean—"

"No, _Pharaoh, _I get it," Jou said, his face flushing red, though not out of shame or embarrassment. Yugi looked up and met his gaze levelly, and he sighed at what he saw. Anger, confusion, resentment, irritation, and more. Of course, Jou had a right to be angry; Yugi had been short and curt for five days now, and he had buried himself in his work so deeply that Malik and Ryou had given up trying to talk to him within the first three days. Only Jou kept trying, and as a result, it was often Jou who ended up bearing the brunt of Yugi's own anger and frustration.

But Jou calling him Pharaoh like that still hurt.

"Jou..."

"I don't get it, Yugi," Jou said, his voice lowering as it always did when he was trying not to hit something. "Why him, huh? Why are you killing yourself over him?"

"I..."

"He's a slave, Yugi. Worse than that, he's a thief and a murderer." Yugi itched to correct that and tell his friend that it wasn't what he thought—that Yami was really Atemu, the man who had saved him all those years ago. But he didn't say anything, for he knew a feeling of obligation wasn't the reason Yugi kept close to the medical bay, asking Isis every chance he could as to the wellbeing of the unconscious man.

Yugi blinked once as Jou continued his tirade. "When Ryou suffered that riding incident, you were never this worried."

"Jou, Ryou wasn't—"

"Ryou was your _friend, _Yugi. Or have you forgotten that already?" Jou spat. Yugi rose from his seat, eyes flashing dangerously. But Jou didn't notice.

"He's lower than scum, Yugi! He's been a thorn in Egypt's side for years! You've tracked him down for that long! He's a liar, Yugi! Everything he says is a lie! He's disrespectful to everyone in the palace, he doesn't obey orders and always manages to get away without punishment! You know why that is, Yugi? Huh? It's because of _you. _And you have to face that, no matter what, he's only going to bring you trouble, and you're better off just letting the bastard die!"

"_ENOUGH!" _Yugi yelled, causing Jou to stumbled back in surprise. "I don't want to hear another word about him! You don't know him like I do! You don't know what he's been through!"

"Oh, and I suppose you do?" Yugi and Jou looked over to see Malik glaring at them both, his arms crossed and a scowl etched across his face as he leaned on the door frame. Yugi clenched his fists and took a deep breath, especially since, for a brief moment, instead of Malik standing there it was Atemu—Atemu? Since when had he started calling the thief by what he knew to be his true name?—, smirking and laughing—albeit cruelly—at something someone had said.

"I know more than you," the tiny pharaoh said, trying to calm himself down.

"Please, Yugi, do explain," Malik sneered, and Ryou entered the room next, brown eyes blinking sadly. The white-haired noble sighed. He knew his friends were being unfair to Yugi, but at the same time, he was angry, too. They had tried to speak to him, to try and get him to see reason, but he had only buried himself in more work and dismissed them every single time.

And frankly? They were sick of it.

"I don't have to explain anything," Yugi said defiantly, tilting his chin up. Ryou turned to Jou and let out a small sigh.

"All right, Yugi, you know what? I don't care anymore. You can do whatever the hell you want." Jou had turned to the door, his body trembling with rage. "Just don't expect me to try and help you anymore." And he stomped out, leaving only Malik and Ryou. Ryou walked over to Yugi and lay a hand on his arm, looking down at the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, Yugi, but... he's right." Ryou whispered, turning and following the blonde.

"You know what I think, Yugi?" Yugi turned to see Malik, still sneering at him. "I think you're in _love. _With him. The thief. That's why you're so upset about this; that's why you're acting this way. It's foolish, Yugi; you know this to be true. It'll never work. That man in incapable of feelings like _love._"

"Get out. Get. Out!" Yugi screamed, shoving Malik out of the room, trying to ignore his friend's cruel laughter as he slammed the door shut, leaning against it and falling to the floor, finally crying the tears of despair he had been holding for far too long.

For now... now he was really, truly alone.

--

Priest Seth wandered down the hallways of the Pharaoh's palace, occasionally exchanging a cool greeting with those who sought to grab his attention. He didn't understand why his pharaoh had insisted on attending the council meeting, especially since Seth had given him a perfectly believable excuse to skip the one thing he hated doing. But then again, Yugi had always believed in doing what he felt was right, just like Seth always felt he had to do what his duty required of him.

Really, it was almost silly. Seth had abandoned all family ties to rise to his position, and the one person he thought he'd miss the least was the one he was tearing himself up over.

_Atemu always did have a way with people, _the High Priest thought, momentarily closing his eyes as he neared the throne room. _He knew what buttons to press; how to start a messy situation and how to stop it with uncanny ease. It was a gift, as strange and annoying as it was, _he reconsidered, though he scowled lightly at the memories of his cousin, who always found it amusing to see how far Seth himself could be pushed.

And it never took him longer than ten seconds to do it.

"Priest Seth?" Seth looked up as his name was called, and he found that he had subconsciously walked into the throne room and into the middle of the meeting.

"Ah..." The High Priest walked over to his spot with the other five keepers, not saying anything else. He frowned, though, when he saw how tired and weary his pharaoh was looking; how his eyes seemed dull, and his voice defeated. Had something happened?

"Pharaoh. I see you have recovered from your... injuries?" Tepemkau said, his eyes gleaming. Yugi looked at him tiredly, sighing.

"I was not injured during the battle."

"Mêlée fatigue, perhaps?"

"No, Tepemkau. I am fine."

"You seem to be spending a lot of time near the medical bay, Pharaoh," the councilman said, his eyes narrowing. "Are you sure you're not sick or something? I cannot think of any other reason, sire," Tepemkau said slightly, the implication clear. The man on the throne narrowed his eyes.

"That," he said, tone clipped, "is none of your business."

"My mistake, Pharaoh. Please, accept my humble apologies." Yugi could hear the slight mockery edging the man's voice—something no one else seemed to have noticed. He didn't say anything in response, instead heaving another sigh and trying to find a window or doorway to look out of, desperate for some light of any kind.

He felt like he was losing control of his country, and now his council and friends... When had this all started?

He didn't even need to answer that. But Jou was _not _right; maybe this had just been long in coming. It didn't mean it was in any way connected with Atemu—err, Yami. Besides, Yami hadn't even wanted to come here, Yugi thought dryly, recalling how the man had verbally lashed every single person in the room upon his capture, almost daring them to kill him.

Yugi remembered it well.

_Go on, _Yami's eyes had said, looking at a guard with a sword. _I dare you to use that thing, if you're man enough. Can you catch me? Have you truly _caught _me?_ Yugi chuckled at that memory, though at the time he had been bristling along with everyone else.

And yet... the scene from yesterday, right before the battle interruption, continued to play in Yugi's mind, making him frown slightly. That moment where the other man had shown—even for the slightest second—a soul battling inside of himself. Conflicted and angry; a soul that had been fed nothing but anger and hate for years. Yugi almost giggled to himself as he remembered a particular incident, not too many days after Yami's arrival.

_Yugi sat at his desk, humming lightly to himself as he watched his friends argue over some silly game. Or rather, Jou and Malik were arguing over some silly game while Ryou stood there with a wide-eyed look, trying to break the literal fistfight that had ensued between the two young nobles._

"_I did not cheat!" Jou sputtered._

"_You did so! I saw you! You're the worst cheater _ever!_" Malik had replied, and Yugi had rolled his eyes, remembering some of the more immature fights they'd had as children—fights that seemed to mimic this one with deadly accuracy. Honestly, he didn't even know what game they were arguing about in the first place. Sennet again, or was it..._

"_Ah! Yugi!" Anzu had breezed into the room, a smile firmly planted on her face. Yugi had looked up, smiling back at his cousin. "Is there something you need?" He asked politely, watching as Jou and Malik gradually settled down—albeit only after Anzu sent them each a condescending "Stop acting like children!" glare. The two rubbed their heads sheepishly, while Ryou looked like he'd rather be banging his into a wall._

"_Yugi," Anzu had said, turning back to her cousin. "There are some nobles in the throne room. They say they have important business." She shrugged, looking bored. Yugi had stood then, smiling almost sadly this time._

"_All right, Anzu," he said. "Hey, guys? I'll see you later!" Then the young man had walked out of the room, ignoring the servants and slaves giving him small bows as he passed._

_Upon entering the room, Yugi had been almost bowled over by some blonde... thing._

"_Oh, my! I am sorry!" The thing had said, offering him a hand while two or three other nobles surged forward, trying to help him up. Yugi merely brushed them off, standing himself and smiling. Really, his mouth was starting to hurt._

"_It's no problem; I'm all right." They proceeded to move to some comfier rooms, where they had immediately sat before Yugi inquired as to what their business was here._

_It didn't take him long to discover the true meaning for their visit: their daughter, a woman called Rebecca._

Rather an odd name, _Yugi had reflected, but he hadn't pursued the matter, for it wasn't like his own name was that common. Throughout the rather boring conversation, she kept giving him coy smiles, trying to catch his eye. Yugi was feeling rather nervous by now, and was wishing he could think of a legitimate excuse to leave without telling an outright lie. Nothing came, so he was forced to endure their dull chatter/Rebecca until finally..._

"_You, slave!" Three slaves had entered the room, hurriedly laying out trays of food on the table in front of them. Well, all except one, who was standing in the doorframe, staring coldly at every single one of them._

_Atemu. Yugi watched as the crimson-eyed man turned to the noble rather lazily, arching one brow as if to say: "Make this quick. I have better things to do." The man, looking rather snooty, had raised his chin, pointing to the food and goblets that had been arranged. "Pour me some wine!"_

"_Pour it yourself. It's right there in front of you," Atemu had replied levelly, smirking as the man gasped and narrowed his eyes. Even Yugi looked shocked._

"_Slave, I order you to pour me some wine!" The man's eyes suddenly opened in recognition, like he had seen Atemu somewhere before. It wasn't hard to believe he had. Atemu as Yami had preyed on pompous nobles like him. "Yami, isn't it?" He said, smirking. Atemu's eyes had narrowed, and he had uncrossed his arms, pushing himself away from the doorframe._

"_My, aren't you quite the observer," he had said. The noble had snorted, bristling at the insult as his wife tittered around him. Rebecca had been glaring at Atemu angrily, while Yugi had been suppressing the first genuine smile he had had all day._

"Yami,_" the noble had said, drawing out the name in a lazy fashion of his own. "I order you to pour me some wine. Surely you must be good for something besides that mouth of yours?" Immediately Atemu had stiffened, his eyes narrowing into slits at the rather disturbing implication. Yugi had tensed as well; that look was never a good thing._

"_Are you implying something, sir?" Atemu had growled. The noble laughed, and Yugi returned to his food, trying to ignore Rebecca, who was trying to make small talk while fluttering her lashes in what would normally be a seductive, charming manner. If it hadn't been so simultaneously creepy, it might have actually worked._

"_I am not implying anything, except a horrible punishment if you continue to disobey me!" Yugi knew Atemu got away with a lot more than most slaves would, but he also knew that was because many people were still afraid of him, even though he was a slave. This noble clearly was not, and Yugi had the feeling he would soon pay for his mistake._

_Atemu started walking towards them, taking slow, deliberate steps, his hips swaying slightly, causing Yugi to blush lightly. Sadly, Rebecca thought this was because of her, so she increased the charm even further, even adding a small little purr to her tone. Without looking at anyone, he picked up the pitcher of wine, extending it towards the smirking noble, who was still holding his cup. Then, with an almost feline grace, Atemu started to pour the wine..._

_Right onto the nobleman. Coincidentally, he made sure to slip forward as he did so, making it appear to be an accident. Yugi probably would have believed him if he hadn't known just how nimble the thief could be... when he wanted._

"_YOU INSOLENT—"_

"_Oh, sir!" Yugi leapt up, snapping to the other two slaves—two females, who had watched the whole thing with wide eyes._

"_Let us help you with that, sir," the slaves said, knowing their part as they moved forward, trying to dab at the red liquid. Atemu put on a shocked expression of innocence, but Yugi caught the cat-like gleam in his eyes; the look of triumph._

"_It is all right! I believe we must go," the noble growled, standing up as he glared at Atemu. "I expect to see him punished!"_

"_Oh, don't worry, he will be," Yugi said, eyeing Atemu, who only purred suggestively. Yugi flushed, along with the nobleman and his wife, who looked almost disgusted. "Umm... not like that!" Atemu pretended to pout, causing Yugi to cover his face and mumble something, still blushing madly._

"_It's been nice talking with you, _Pharaoh,_" Rebecca said, smiling so hard Yugi thought her face would break. Finally, however, they left—the slaves escorting them out as Yugi flopped onto his chair, sighing deeply as he closed his eyes with a slight frown. He was suddenly aware of a rich chuckle behind him, and he turned to see Atemu, who was still there. Without a word, the former-thief had left, but not before turning back to Yugi, the gleam back in his eyes._

"_Hear that, Pharaoh?" He said, voice low. "Your subjects think I need to be punished." He had stopped then, eyes hardening. "What they don't seem to realize is that my whole life has been one punishment. Do they honestly think one more will do anything?" Then he had left, leaving a slightly confused Yugi behind him._

"—right, Pharaoh? Pharaoh?"

"Is he all right?"

"He looks rather out of it..."

"He's fine, I'm sure."

"Pharaoh!" Yugi suddenly blinked, his eyes clearing as he looked into the worried faces of his six keepers. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the memory, before smiling faintly at them.

"Sorry," he replied. "What happened?"

"My Pharaoh, I think perhaps you should rest," Mahado said, his wise brown eyes blinking. Yugi contemplated this, sighing and nodding.

"You have been very busy, Yugi; you're ahead of your work, I'm sure," Seth intoned. "You must rest now—your strength is low after such a heated battle."

"I think..." Yugi said, "... I think you are right. Please excuse me, Tepemkau, I fear I must lay down for a bit." Yugi rose, walking out of the throne room—trying to ignore the hushed conversations that followed his departure.

--

Tepemkau almost smirked as he watched Yugi leave, instead merely giving him a concerned nod. "I, too, must depart: I have urgent business to attend to."

"Of course," the High Priest said, and Tepemkau had to resist the urge to curl his hands into fists at Seth's uninterested, Holier Than Thou tone. In retrospect, perhaps he was... _But we'll see how long he can hold onto _that _look, hmm?_

Tepemkau walked to his chambers, before slipping into a large brown cloak. He then made his way down the servants' corridors, trying to look inconspicuous.

Once outside, Tepemkau regretted using the cloak, so hot was the beating of Ra, but he forced himself to ignore it, instead heading off to one of the taverns. He had a meeting with someone, and he must not be late.

Upon arriving, the councilman seated himself at a rather shaded table, awaiting his contact.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Ah... Tepemkau." The figure swooped in, sitting down at the table across from him, face shadowed by a hood.

"You summoned?" Tepemkau asked, only momentarily musing about how his _contact _had summoned _him,_ and not the other way around.

"I did," the figure said, taking a sip out of the wine that had appeared in front of them—courtesy of one of the servers. "I want to discuss your recent failure. The Pharaoh is not yet dead?"

"Nor is the thief," the man said, grinding his teeth. The figure tsked.

"Shame, Tepemkau, shame... A double failure? How disappointing. Stabbed by a sword, though?" The figure tilted its head to the side. Tepemkau bristled.

"Yes. He was wounded, but the pharaoh _insisted..._"

"Don't waste my time, Tepemkau; I honestly don't care right about now. You've put me in a dangerous position, you know that?"

"I'm sorry—"

"I don't want any apologies! I want the job done, and I want it done fast. Just think: the sooner you accomplish this, the sooner you can marry the princess and rule Egypt, hmm?" The figure seemed to be sneering at him, but suddenly they adopted a lazy expressing, drinking more wine. "Did you know, dear Tepemkau, that one word from me could ruin you?" The figure purred again. "I have contacts, you know. I have contacts everywhere. They tell me when you fail, just like they tell me how you're treading on thin ice with our _dear _pharaoh. If word of your... association with me were to get out, your reputation would fall faster than drunks at a heated party! We don't what that, now do we?"

"And what, exactly, do _you _get out of this?" Tepemkau asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

"Ah, ah... Silly boy, that's for me to know, and you to find out... when the time is right. Until then, here is what you must do..."

The two continued to talk in low, hushed tones, until at last Tepemkau nodded, looking grave.

"And if that doesn't work, well... you always have plan B, am I right?" The figure laughed, and for a moment a flash of silver was revealed. Tepemkau nodded stiffly. The figure cooed. "Right. On your way, then. Next time I see you I expect some _good _news: not more reports of how you've once again failed. I helped you capture him in the first place, didn't I? The least you can do is kill him for me."

"Is that all you want?" Tepemkau blurted out, baffled. The figure sighed lazily, leaning back into the chair and taking yet another sip of wine.

"As I said, that is for me to know, and you to find out. But I will give you this: No, that is not my only reason. However, I intend on solving this issue myself; I already have a plan worked out. Nevertheless, it depends on your success, so if you don't want to wake up with a dagger in your back, I'd do it right this time." Tepemkau swallowed nervously at the deadly edge in the person's voice, and he nodded slowly.

"I understand," the councilman said, trying not to grit his teeth together.

"I'm so glad!" The figure purred, rising. "Now don't make me bother you until the job is done, Tepemkau. I don't need to warn you of the penalty should you fail me again!" The person swept past him, out into the darkening streets... but not before Tepemkau caught a definite flash of sapphire as they left.

--

Bakura leaned against the cave walls, scowling lightly at Marik, who was conversing with the silver-haired man: someone who Khemet had brought in when she had returned with their supplies.

"This is Pegasus," the girl had said cheerfully, bouncing into the cave and depositing the new supplies on the floor unceremoniously. "He's the head of Yami's thief ring to the... west, I believe it is?" She frowned, shrugging. "Anyways, I figured we needed a fourth person. I found him in Thebes, and recognized him instantly!"

"Everyone knows who Pegasus is, idiot," Bakura growled, looking over at the silver-haired man. "He's not exactly inconspicuous."

"Well, neither are any of us, right? Yami certainly wasn't," Khemet shrugged, sitting down on the floor of the cave. "I mean, with that hair and all. And you, 'Kura—Well, you aren't, either. Face it, we'd all stand out in a crowd," she said, laughing lightly. Bakura hissed, but said nothing, and Marik just ignored them both. Typical.

"So what are we going to do? You saw what happened at the battle!"

"Why 'Kura!" Marik cooed. "You were actually concentrating on something besides the little white-haired noble? I'm surprised! That deserves a treat!"

"Shut up, Marik."

"Ouch. That hurts, man," Marik said. Bakura growled at him, too. Khemet rolled her eyes, going through her bag, though her posture was noticeably stiffer, and her eyes were deadpan.

"And you're one to talk, Marik—especially since you were..." Bakura was cut off as Marik threw a golden plate at him, wincing as it hit the wall behind him.

"That's solid gold, you silly boy," Pegasus said, speaking for the first time as he walked over and bent to retrieve the object. "Tsk," he sighed. "What a waste. It's all bent out of shape! Now we'll have to eat off of bent plates! How uncouth." He made a face whilst Bakura and Marik stared at him incredulously.

"We don't eat off those," Khemet said slowly. "We sell them. You know, for supplies."

"Good heavens! Why on earth would you do that?" Pegasus said, shaking his head sadly. "You have a perfect amount of them, and can't you just sell everything else?"

"We sell everything we can," Khemet explained, like she would to a child. Pegasus looked slightly aghast, but he finally sighed, smiling wryly. "I see we have some work to do," he said. "And I don't just mean within this fabulous little thief ring."

"Oh, joy... Listen, I'd love to stay and learn how to search beverages, but I have somewhere to be." With that, Bakura got up and walked out of the cave, leaving his friends behind.

--

Yugi lightly paced his room, one hand at his chin and the other behind his back. He laughed as he remembered the way he father used to wear his ceremonial beard—something Yugi had tried and despised. Slowly, he made his way to the elaborate bed, lying down and staring at the ceiling.

"Pharaoh?" Yugi looked up as Mahado entered the room, tilting his head to the side lightly. "Yes?" he asked, blinking twice.

"Are you sure you're all right?" The man asked, causing Yugi to nod quicker than he had meant to.

"I'm fine," Yugi said, trying to cover up. "Just... really tired, you know?"

"You're worried about him." Yugi stilled, biting his lip.

"Of course not. Why should I be worried about a slave?" He tried. Mahado just laughed.

"I knew you were," he said, smiling slightly. "It's the way you... hover. And what you just said there—it's not a you-thing to say, my pharaoh. It was false, and you know it." When Yugi didn't answer, Mahado sighed.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Pharaoh," he said, looking towards the bed, trying to suppress a smile as he saw Yugi, who had fallen asleep. Mahado laughed again, this time quietly, before leaving the area, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

--

Yugi's dreams had not been disturbed by images and strange words for quite some time, but he supposed everything must come to an end. Yet... this was unlike any dream he had ever had before. Instead of being in an abyss of darkness, he was in his own room, and when he looked at his hands, they were almost transparent. With a start, Yugi leapt back, his eyes wide... especially as he saw his own self still lying on his bed, fast asleep.

"What...?" He whispered, reaching out once as if to see if he was real. He stopped himself however, withdrawing and frowning. What was this? He had _never _had dreams like this before; certainly not ones where he could see himself. Blinking, Yugi walked towards his door, opening it lightly... only to find he could pass right through it. He yelped loudly as his hand passed through the wood and inwardly cursed himself, especially as he spotted his friend, Ryou, walking slowly down the hall, a black cloak draped over his shoulders.

"Sorry, Ryou, I didn't mean to..." But Ryou walked right past him, as if he wasn't there, casting an almost sorrowful glance at Yugi's door.

"I'm sorry, Yugi," he whispered. "I don't mean to betray you like this... but I think you'll understand."

"Betray me?" Yugi echoed as Ryou's hand lightly touched his door, before slipping down as the white-haired noble slipped a hood over his head and continued walking, turning right at the servants' hallways. Yugi frowned, deciding to follow him, if only to preserve his sanity. What was going on?

He watched as Ryou zigzagged through corridors, casting nervous glances all around. Yugi the Spectre followed, not even bother to watch where he was going, as he seemed to pass through anything but stone, as he found out in a rather painful manner. Suddenly Yugi stilled as he saw Ryou pause. He was at one of the palace entries, albeit one hardly used. Yugi frowned again. What was going on? Ryou seemed to look around again until he was satisfied no one was watching, before stepping out of the palace.

"Bakura?" he called gently, his eyes roaming the gardens. Yugi waited as nothing happened.

"Bakura?" Ryou tried again, only this time he got an answer. A small chuckle was heard, and suddenly another figure appeared. This one was wearing a red cloak that looked almost black in the moonlight, and his hair was white. Yugi gaped. He knew who this was!

And, evidentially, so did Ryou, as the next thing Yugi bore witness to was the larger figure drawing Ryou in and kissing him gently, something Ryou responded to with just as much tenderness.

"I was afraid you didn't come," Ryou admitted as they stepped apart, not noticing the rather red-looking spectre who was blushing mightily behind them.

"Ah... we had a new... addition." Ryou looked liked he wanted to ask more, but didn't dare, just in case. Yugi started to tremble lightly behind them.

Bakura... Bakura... he had heard Atemu mention something about Bakura... and he knew who he was, too. Yami's second-in-command. How could Ryou do something like...

... like what he himself was currently wishing he could do, only with a certain slave. Yugi's eyes saddened. He watched the two for a little while longer, before abruptly turning and running back into the palace, his feet making no sound as they hit both grass and stone. He turned then. He knew where he was going, and nothing short of an army could keep him from going there.

A short intake of breath. He didn't think spirits could run out of breath in the first place.

The medical bay. Yugi hesitated at the door, wondering if he should really go through with this.

Then he remembered Ryou, and his eyes burned with determination. Yes.

Yugi passed through the door to the medical bay... or rather, he tried to. For some reason, he couldn't pass through again, so he was forced to open the door and slip silently in, hoping he didn't wake any of the other patients. He quietly surveyed the room, looking for...

Ah... there... Yugi glided over to the bedside of the former thief, looking down with a strange expression in his eyes. "You saved me again," he whispered to him, even though he knew Atemu would not be able to hear him. He lightly brushed the sleeping other's cheek, humming a lullaby someone had once sung to him, all those years ago. "And you didn't have to. You could have let me die, you know... I know you carry no affection for me. But you still did, my thief. And it makes me wonder..." Yugi stilled as Atemu stirred lightly, but when nothing else happened, he relaxed. "It makes me wonder if... perhaps you feel something more, now. Do you still hate me? I hope not..."

"No..." Yugi almost leapt back as the thief murmured something in his sleep. As far as anything had told him, Atemu had stayed silent, never making a sound, as if he were dead.

"You're a strange person," the young pharaoh said. "A very strange person, Atemu. Really, sometimes it's like there are two different versions of you, but that's silly, isn't it?" He lightly smoothed one of Atemu's blonde bangs, his face deep in concentration.

"What have you done to me?" Yugi wasn't even startled when he looked down to see Atemu's crimson eyes staring directly at him. He smiled lightly. This was a dream, wasn't it?

"The real questions is this: What have _you _done to _me_?" He laughed lightly, in an un-Yugi like way. Although, he hadn't been acting like himself since entering the room. Instead, he had shed the meek public Yugi, and a new, bolder, braver Yugi had taken his place.

"Is it not funny? The games we play?" Yugi looked down at Atemu, who, while still lying on his back, was having no trouble speaking or anything else.

"Mmm..." Yugi said lightly, tilting his head to the side. "And what games do we play, Atemu?" He asked, enjoying the shudder that ran through the thief's body at the use of his real name.

"Games of deception; games of lies; games of treachery, games of love..." Atemu groaned once, painfully, as he tried to sit up, only to have Yugi lightly push him back down with a shake of his head, fingers ghosting over the bandages that were wrapped around the thief's wound, causing the crimson-eyed man to shudder, and not with the pain this time.

"Ah, ah... rest, you. No getting up," Yugi said, feeling empowered, his amethyst eyes glowing in the dark. After all, this was but a dream. None of it was really happening; in the morning he would forget. For now, he lived in the present, and only that. "We wouldn't want you to injure yourself further." He lightly ran a hand through Atemu's hair, humming the strange, haunting lullaby again. "You wouldn't be able to play your games if you had no strength, my thief. And wouldn't that be a right shame?" Yugi purred, his eyes trailing down the thief's body. He only wore the bottom part to the tunic now; they had needed to access the wound properly. Yugi saw the white linen bandages surrounding the lower part of Atemu's torso, and he smiled sadly, lightly trailing a finger down it.

"That's because of me, isn't it?" he said, not looking up. His breathing was slightly ragged, and he lightly placed his palm on where he knew the wound lay underneath. He looked paler, and his head was lower slightly at he looked at the layers of cloth. "Because you... you tried to save me. I'll bet you regret it now... I can only imagine the pain you must be in..." He stopped as he felt a hand grasp his free one, and he looked up to meet the burning crimson eyes of the man who had stolen his heart.

"I regret nothing." Yugi's breath hitched again. Atemu had pulled himself up and was sitting, staring at Yugi levelly. "Nothing." Then all Yugi felt were a pair of warm lips on his own, and a hand encircling the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

The kiss wasn't deep, really. It was simple, yet it carried torrents of emotions the young pharaoh had only heard about from people he knew, and people he didn't. It was the kind of kiss you'd find in a story, right before the part that goes "and they all lived happily ever after." Powerful, yet soft. Demanding, yet tender.

"Atemu..." Yugi breathed, looking down at the other, who had drawn away after a moment.

"I do not regret _anything._" Yugi smiled softly at that.

"I am glad, Atemu," he said, voice matching the thief's in regard to level. "I'm glad..." His hand trailed up the thief's torso, causing Atemu to let out a small moan. "So very, very glad..." And then he eagerly drew the man into another heated kiss.

_You can have winners in this game, _Yugi thought, smiling as he elicited yet another small moan from the crimson-eyed thief. _And this time I've captured the grand prize._

Suddenly a noise outside the room startled him, and Yugi's head snapped up. This caught the attention of Atemu who turned towards the sound, still breathing heavily, as was Yugi's spectral form. He wasn't sure what this dream was, but it sure was an odd one. He didn't even wonder why Atemu could see him but others could not. It was only a dream, after all. He would remember nothing when he woke, and neither would anyone else.

Sadly...

"I think I must go," Yugi said, watching as Atemu's eyes flickered over to the door. The footsteps and voices were getting louder. "Or... at least as much as I can, now. You've stolen my heart, Atemu."

"Thieves steal, Pharaoh," Atemu said, eyes half-lidded. "It is what we do. I have just finally found something worth keeping." Yugi smiled warmly at that. Atemu watched him for a moment, before reaching out, grabbing his arm, and pulling the young pharaoh close, pressing their lips together again.

"The games we play; the games we win; the games we lose, pharaoh. I think, today, I have done a little of both. Like all of Egypt, I will listen to you. But not because you are my pharaoh, Yugi." The pharaoh shivered as he heard his name roll off the thief's tongue. "No," Atemu continued. "It is because you hold my heart—it is yours to do with as you please. Remember that, Yugi. I will obey no one but you."

Yugi smiled, but it was then the doors opened, and a very stunned Isis stood there, staring at Atemu with wide eyes.

And then he woke up.

--

Yugi sat on his bed, gasping lightly. Images from the dream he had had the night before filled his head, refusing to go away or even fade, like most dreams did. Because unlike dreams, he remembered every single part of this dream.

_Every. Single. Part. _He remembered every word, every touch, every smell... everything. And... it was almost frightening. He had never felt something like this before. A combination of fear and hope such as he had never experienced. He knew it must have been a dream... what other explanation was there? No one had seen him; no one had heard him.

Well, no one but Atemu, anyways.

_Atemu... _The name caused chills to run down Yugi's spine and a small smile to spread across his face. That was the part of the dream that scared him and thrilled him the most. He could hardly believe... Yugi shook his head, lightly pushing back the sheets of his bed and standing up. He threw on some of his more simple robes, followed by a white cape. He wasn't in the mood to wear heavy or extravagant colors. A simple white tunic embroidered with gold, and a white cloak of the same material. He laughed calmly. He usually dressed himself, even though the slaves insisted it was their job. He merely shrugged them off, telling them he was used to it and could manage. He walked over to a small table, where he quickly hooked some gold earrings into his ears, shaking his head soundlessly. A gold Egyptian collar lay next to them, and he quickly put that on as well. White and gold.

Perfect. Standing up, Yugi quickly glided over to his door, the images from his dream making him pause every now-and-then. He wished... he wished...

Well, he didn't have time to finish that wish, for at that moment, the door to his chamber burst open _again, _and a very anxious-looking Isis ran in, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

"Pharaoh! The thief! He's awake!"

--

Cheyenne: And... end! WITH short author notes, and over 7,000 words! There's just a little something I want to say regarding Yugi's character.

**I know some of you may consider the characters to be acting a little OOC, and I'm all right with that. However, I want you all to know that OOC-ness is **_**not **_**my intention. However, this is **_**my **_**interpretation of how they would act in these situations. Yes, I have made Yugi bolder and a little more seme-ish, but... well, actually, my characters are kind of writing themselves by this point. *Laughs***

**And don't worry. Atemu is certainly not going to be a submissive uke or anything like that, ja?**

**Just wanted to clear that up, though it didn't really come out like I had hoped it would. *Frowns***

Anyways. Since it is almost All Hallows Eve, I want to wish you all a Happy Halloween. I intend to write a Halloween story, though it may be short and a bit late ;D The first chapter will be posted sometime tomorrow, though.

... Yay!

It _will _be done, though.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	9. Chapter 8: Conspiracy

Cheyenne: I didn't abandon you, I promise! Shit happens, and let me tell you: when the hard drive to your laptop fries, you know you're in trouble.

I'm sure you all know the drill by now, yes? The English class I am totally not posting this in does not belong to me. It belongs to the school board and I claim no ownership.

YGO! is an entirely different matter. For one, I'm not wishing it would suddenly explode :)

... Yeah, it's not mine either. Sorry for the wait, and have fun with this!

Thanks to Natoya for her amazing beta work of betaness!

This chapter is supposed to be confusing as all fuck.

Reviews = Insta-love!

--

Yuugi was up in an instant. His amethyst eyes, so wide and innocent, were narrowed in a look of pure determination. He didn't know if adrenaline bursts could come in this form, for indeed, he had never felt one with this kind of intensity, except for maybe once.

But dreams did not count, and the young pharaoh was forced to concur that yes, his dream had been just that. _A dream._

And yet some things still lingered. He could taste the thief still: a mix of exotic spices and herbs all combined into something that threatened to drive his entire being mad.

Another lingering thought concerned the other's eyes. Oh, his eyes… those eyes he'd thought he'd never see again; the eyes that he had watched close as blood of a matching color poured from the wound, soaking the young pharaoh's hands and tunic as he screamed for help.

But had he really screamed? And why was he thinking this now? It did not make sense; he could not even begin to fathom why.

And yet, the hope still sparked in his chest. Perhaps the thief could love after all? Or was he just deluding himself? Were his friends right? Could Atemu really care for another human being after the life he had led? And was Yuugi really willing to risk the friendship of those he had grown up with? Laughed with? Played with?

_Yes._

The answer was surprising, yet simple. _Yes. _He enjoyed the sound of that word. He shivered at the mere thought it, for it empowered him.

_Yes._

He would risk it. He would risk everything for him—this man who had saved him, and yet tried to kill him.

It was almost terrifying, what he was suddenly willing to risk for this man.

But had Atemu really ever tried to kill him? _Yes._

Yes, he had. That time in his room. But he hadn't. Yuugi had been sleeping. He wouldn't have been able to stop Atemu at the time, for he had been lost to the world at that time; lost in the murky land of his nightmares.

But the thief hadn't done it.

One, two, three. The burning of his cousin's village, his decision to let Yuugi live, and the battle.

The battle that had caused Atemu to wind up where he was now, in the med bay, sleeping.

Until now.

A thought struck Yuugi then. The three strangers he had seen: the one in red, the one in purple and the one in tan. He knew who they were, yes, but what he didn't know was how they had gotten in and out.

He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before. Atemu's gang had been _in the palace, and—_

"My pharaoh!"

He paused, if only to let his frazzled-looking High Priestess catch up to him, watching her with a bemused expression. Upon hearing word of the thief's awakening, Yuugi's vision had swirled until he suddenly found himself on a frantic mission to Isis' healing bay. He had ignored the shocked expressions of his friends and their frantic calls in favor of what his mind was telling him.

He wondered if Atemu would be glad to see him at all. After all, it was his fault the other had got that sword shoved right through him.

Isis was looking at him funny. Yuugi assumed he had chuckled out loud at that last thought.

"My Pharaoh," Isis panted as she slowed. "What is so funny?"

"I was just thinking, Isis. Poor thief, impaling himself on a sword to save me. He hates me, you know. I think he's tried to kill me."

Isis looked like she was about to fall over so large were her eyes. Yuugi chuckled again, feeling slightly dizzy by this point.

He figured it was just the adrenaline.

"Don't worry so, Isis. I'm still alive, aren't I?" He upped the pace, wondering why Isis was still jogging when she was so much taller than he. "Malik doesn't think I should be. Aww." Yuugi pouted as Isis sent him another wary glance.

"Yuugi…"

A sharp glance.

"Pharaoh," she corrected herself. Yuugi sighed; arching a brow lightly as he stopped just outside of a wooden door, arms crossed as he looked at is High Priestess.

"I am worried about you, Pharaoh," Isis said at last. "This man… he is just a thief."

"Mmm… tell me, Isis—what has the Tauk showed you lately?"

Isis was silent.

"I thought not." The petite pharaoh then held his hand out, pushing the door open lightly as he walked into the room, amethyst eyes searching until they rested upon the figure who was currently sitting up on his pallet, leaning on the glyph-covered walls with one knee up and an arm resting on said knee while one of the slaves tended to a wound on his other arm.

"You should still be resting."

A lazy turn of the head, and then those brilliant crimson eyes were focused on him and him alone.

"It is hard to rest, Pharaoh. I fear I gave away something I can never reclaim. A thief is not used to giving things away, you know."

"And what have you given away, hmm?"

"Very nearly my life, I suppose. I am guessing I have you to thank for this luxurious care?"

Yuugi suppressed a purr as Atemu arched his own brow, even the smallest movements languid. It wasn't fair, really: the man shouldn't be so damn tempting so soon after waking up for the first time in days, _after _being mortally wounded in battle.

Yuugi wondered if this mood he was in was just a result of his strange dream.

"You would be right," he replied.

"Your High Priestess looks less than pleased."

A pregnant silence penetrated the room as Isis scowled lightly. Atemu ignored her, though a slightly pained look crossed his face as he shifted his position, resting his head against the wall with a barely audible sigh, his eyes drifting shut.

"He still needs rest," one of the young slaves whispered, feeling his brow. "His body is much too hot; the wound has exhausted him completely." She looked at Yuugi, dark brown eyes large and solemn. She couldn't be older than thirteen, he was guessing.

"Sir?"

Yuugi shook his head as the girl addressed him, sounding scared almost, like he was going to have her arrested and thrown in jail for even speaking to him. It was a logical claim, he supposed, for such past deeds had been executed without thought.

"I suppose, yes," Yuugi said at last, straightening his spine as he inclined his head. Atemu had cracked one eye open and was looking at him strangely. The young pharaoh looked down, a blush coloring his cheeks. "Yes, he should rest." Yuugi silenced Atemu with a look when the thief/slave looked ready to add in a comment of his own.

"In the meantime," Yuugi continued, "I want him well cared for."

"My Pharaoh…"

"Is my life not worth anything to you, Isis?" Yuugi hissed, but he felt a large surge of guilt at the taller woman's solemn expression. She was just trying to protect him in her own little way, he knew. He also knew that he was being completely unfair, especially with that last remark. Isis valued his life above her own, as did the other High Priests. The fact that he had just said…

"Look, Isis, I didn't mean it," Yuugi mumbled, looking down. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Atemu standing there, not looking at him but at Isis.

"I will make this as easy as possible for you. I give you my word."

Yuugi's eyes widened at Atemu's statement. "You should be in bed!" he whispered furiously. Was it possible for someone's feelings to change so quickly? Or had it been something gradual—slipping by him unnoticed before rearing its head and pulling him down into the swirling depths of this new and strange emotion?

He enjoyed it, though. He enjoyed the warm feeling that seemed to spread from his chest all throughout his body. He didn't _want _to let it go.

Isis blinked slowly and calmly as she studied the looks between the two men, her eyebrows nearly shooting up into her hairline. She wasn't going to pretend that Yuugi's comment hadn't been hurtful and unexpected, and she was once again reminded of just how much the young man had _changed. _They had nearly grown up together, him being best friends with her brother Malik.

_How quickly things can change._

She turned as she felt someone else enter the room. Mahado was standing there, the Sennen Ring draped around his neck. Isis inclined her head, nodding lightly. Mahado didn't reply, choosing to watch the scene in front of him instead. He looked almost saddened—regretful. Fearful. His expression puzzled the poor priestess, who was stuck standing there like the awkward third chariot wheel.

"Mahado, my friend. What puzzles you so?" She said, gliding over to the other keeper, who finally turned and acknowledged her.

"Them."

Isis didn't even need to look to know to whom he was referring. _Them _obviously meant the former thief and their pharaoh, who seemed to be arguing lowly about something. Every now-and-then their voices would rise, though it was anyone's guess as to what they were _actually _talking about. The once-thief looked indignant a few times, and Isis' ears caught Yuugi sighed in that exasperated manner of his, like he did whenever he was beginning to lose his patience with something. She thought she heard her name once or twice, but dismissed it as her own paranoia.

"It's strange."

"Not really."

"Not really?" Isis echoed, frowning lightly at the man's comment. Mahado shrugged dispassionately.

"You're looking for an explanation for the pharaoh's sudden change in behavior, are you not?"

Isis sighed. How did he always do that? It was the same way with the others. Kalim, Akhenaden, Shada… Of course, those three had been sent away on separate missions to bordering cities on Yuugi's orders the fourth day after the battle. He didn't like sending them away, but the tiny pharaoh knew that the powers of the Sennen Items might be strong enough to keep an enemy partially at bay. At least long enough for them to get a message out.

"Yes."

Mahado nodded right before he turned around, walking back out of the room. "So am I."

That scared Isis more than anything.

"Priestess?" She was brought back to her senses by a low voice, and she turned to see Atemu staring at her analytically. She forced her usual calm demeanor on, and with a barely noticeable nod, granted him permission to continue.

Not that he needed it. He was the single most disobedient person she had ever had the misfortune of meeting. Ah, still, she supposed he had his moments. She wasn't going to pretend it wasn't amusing to see previously High and Mighty nobles brought to their knees by a single slave.

_The palace walls glittered as per usual, the golden columns decorated with richly painted hieroglyphs and depictions of their gods and goddesses._

_The Pharaoh sat on his throne, his expression weary as he tilted his head up and to the side, exhaling loudly. The seven high priests and Isis, the single high priestess, were clustered around in their usual formation on the floor, down the stairs that led up to their deigned sovereign._

The thought brought a faint smile to her lips, even though it had little to do with anything.

"Atemu has agreed to abide your decisions. If you tell him to rest, he will." It was Yuugi that spoke then, earning him a vehement glare from Atemu, as well as a low growl.

Clearly the crimson-eyed other was not happy about this arrangement, but he'd play along.

_But for how long?_

"All right," Isis said at last. She then looked directly at Yuugi, her eyes sharp. "_I trust you._"

--

Hours later, the sky had darkened. The streets of Memphis were alive with torches and laughter coming from the many taverns. But in the actual streets themselves, the only figure in sight was one wearing a loose cloak with a hood. Egyptian nights were chilly, after all. Hurrying along, this figure paused at the door to one of the taverns before a shake of the head was seen. The figure then turned, moving further down until he came to a rather quiet building in one of the more remote areas of Memphis. Breathing out a small sigh of relief, the figure lightly pushed open one of the doors, slipping in before the hood was removed, revealing a bald head where a wig would usually rest, as was the custom of most nobles. Wigs made going out in the sun less of a challenge, especially when it was so hot. The rest of his face was rather plain, though if you were to look at this man in a crowd, you would find it was hard to look away. There was something there that held your attention.

Now, however, he just looked nervous.

The room he had entered was widely spaced and dimly lit. In the few sparse tables sat some sullen looking patrons, sipping their drinks and never looking up. To his far right, maybe more towards a corner, there was a bar-like thing, where the wine was made and stored, he supposed. It was the brightest part of the room.

The man swallowed, taking one step forward—a step he could easily hear above everything. There were no jokes, no laughing… just the occasional hushed conversations and stares as he glided past, his head held high.

"Tepemkau."

The man halted, the hairs on his neck prickling as he recognized the voice. Without further breaking stride he slid over to the table with the lone figure, biting his lip as he sat down in the chair. The figure across from him chuckled, causing Tepemkau to look up.

The other was shrouded almost completely in the shadows, and though Tepemkau could tell the person had the hood of their cloak down, he could not distinguish any physical features. In fact, the outline of their head was rather odd. The sides made it seem like their cloak had been left up, even though he could tell, even here, that it had been removed. He growled. He was getting fed up with this person.

"I'm here," he said at last. He could see the figure's head nod, the outline of it bobbing up and down slowly. He saw a hand reach out, a golden ring on one slender finger as the other grabbed a goblet, pulling it back.

"I see that, Tepemkau."

"Why did you call me?"

"To warn you of course."

"Warn me?" Tepemkau's eyes narrowed. The figure shrugged.

"Indeed." The figure took another drink. "See, remember those instructions I gave you? I took care of them. Opportunity presented itself; I wasn't about to turn down such a… _promising _business proposition. I just need to finalize it." The figure laughed, causing a couple of the other people in the bar to turn and give them looks.

A serving maid wandered over. Her cheeks her hollow and her voice was raspy. Her dress looked way too big for her and her hair was cut in uneven chunks.

"Can I get you something?"

"Yes, actually, I—"

"No."

Tepemkau's eyes narrowed. The girl nodded, sensing the finality of the other person's voice as she wandered towards one of the other tables.

"I was thirsty," Tepemkau said tightly.

"Sucks to be you then, huh?" He could tell the figure was smirking just by their satisfied tone of voice. The figure then stood, but their hand was extended, telling Tepemkau that the same courtesy didn't extend to him. He would remain seated. But suddenly the figure leaned forward, pulling Tepemkau by the front of his cloak into the shadows.

"Now listen to me carefully, Tepemkau. My instructions for you have changed…"

The bar was back to its hushed interior only moments later. But as the strange figure pulled their hood up to leave, the councilman swore he could again see a faint gleam of silver before his elusive contact vanished once more.

--

The days passed uneventfully. He'd eat, he'd sleep, and he'd subject himself to the priestess' iron-like looks as she and the other slaves moved about to make sure he was comfortable. Occasionally the young Pharaoh would visit, apologizing every time he missed a day or so. Truth be told, Atemu was surprised. He hadn't expected the Pharaoh himself to visit, especially with all the work he figured Yuugi must have to do. Still, the amethyst-eyed young man continued to stop by, and Atemu found himself relaxing more and more, to the point where he even started to converse normally and with more than just one or two-word answers. Sometimes the image of their confrontation in the hallway would flicker in his mind, the effects causing him to pause whatever he did.

"_Knowing what you know, why have you not tried to kill me yet, little Pharaoh?" Atemu asked, his whole body tensing up._

_The young Pharaoh stared at him levelly through almost half-lidded eyes. Reaching up, he gently brushed Atemu's cheek._

"_You... captivate me," the Pharaoh breathed. "I have never met a person would who willingly insult my high priests and myself without any regard for his own safety; never met a person who would openly stare his own death in the face as you did, Atemu." Yugi's hand dropped slowly, and Atemu turned away._

He did not know what to make of it. His moment of weakness, where his heartbeat had quickened, his breath shortened and his resolve weakened.

_No. _He should his head to clear the thoughts, focusing on something else.

A question that had been plaguing him since he started becoming more coherent was: How long would it last? How long would this whole thing last? He would not be injured forever, and though the wound would take time to heal, he would get better… unless he died. And that was a very real possibility he faced every day. Death. He had learned not to fear it, but there was a part in every man's mind that wondered how the end would come.

Atemu had long since accepted that his death most likely wouldn't be a quiet one; that it would most likely be by a sword or a rope, respectively. Such was the life of a thief. Old age was something very little of them reached. Once your bones started to fail you, rendering you unable to steal or do anything, you were as good as dead. There was no pity for the poor, and he did not expect any. From anyone.

But he was wrong. It was a rare thing, to be wrong, yet it seemed to be happening more and more. He was wrong about the attack that had led to his capture, though how the palace guards had found out still remained unclear, and he was wrong about… this palace. In general. He had been wrong about his punishment—he had expected death, and had been denied. He had been correct is assuming what everyone thought of him, but found that, to his surprise, not everyone made him feel unwelcome. Sure, he got the cold shoulder from many nobles who, along with the guards, seemed to delight in tormenting him, but he had been pleasantly surprised by the reception he had received from his fellow slaves, who had welcomed him with open arms, per se. They had accepted him. To them, he was like a mysterious savior. He was the man who had done what they all wished they could do, and whose followers continued his work.

Bakura wouldn't like being called a follower.

And the Pharaoh. Another thing he had been wrong about. He had expected a hate-filled greeting from everyone in the throne room and had gotten it—from everyone save his cousin and the strange, irritating little Pharaoh. The man who had saved his life, and the man whose life he had saved so many, many years ago.

_Six years._

The impact of his actions still hit him hard. The little boy he had saved from the invaders six years ago—the young boy with the biggest, most innocent pair of eyes he had ever seen—had been Egypt's crown prince. And because of what he did, he was alive now. His actions had finally come back to haunt him, and while some of the results were admittedly painful, some of them filled him with such relief that he found he had trouble breathing.

What if he had left the Pharaoh, then a young princeling, to die? What if he had been taken by the slavers and sold? What would Egypt be like then; with Anzu and whomever she married ruling the country?

He would be dead, he was sure of it. And yet, if he hadn't saved Yuugi, would he have even been caught? What would he have been like if he had not done what he had done?

He knew that, if he had left the Pharaoh to die and gotten caught anyway, he would be dead. And the rush of relief that came with this thought, this acknowledgement that Yuugi was indeed _alive_, continued to follow him around.

Yes, he had long since recognized and accepted Yuugi's decision to preserve his life.

But he did not like being indebted to another. Was that why he had saved Yuugi when he did? Or had he even been thinking at all? When he saw the sword fall, his instincts had taken over. He had taken the blow and fought back without a second thought. The sheer determination and adrenaline that came with it was enough to keep him fueled but it, like everything he knew in life, had faded away.

And now look at where he was.

But the question still remained: a blessing or a curse?

Lifting his arms, Atemu looked at the bandages still surrounding his torso, where just a week ago, a sword had been. The sword had been removed almost immediately, yes, and he had killed its owner, but the blood pouring out freely, with nothing to staunch it, had weakened his already anemic body.

Then he remembered arms around him and a voice screaming for help. He remembered the rush of battle around him and the calls of those dying and victorious.

And then a pair of eyes looming above him, wide and frantic.

Atemu remembered saying something, apologizing, perhaps, but whatever he had been apologizing for… the list was large. Was he sorry for dying? Nay, but perhaps…

Perhaps he feared death more than he thought.

Did he have regrets? Oh, many.

The strange dream came unbidden to his mind, but he shrugged it off. Pharaohs did not wander their palaces at night; it had merely been a fatigue-induced illusion.

But it didn't explain why he had kissed the Pharaoh.

Dreams were created by one's subconscious, he knew. Sometimes dreams brought forth a person's greatest fear or desire. He had been so used to fear clouding his senses during sleep that dreams had finally stopped affecting him.

Then he had this one.

"Atemu."

He turned his head towards the speaker, tilting it lightly to the side. But he did not answer. His eyes were half-lidded and his posture was slightly stiff, but he didn't give off a threatening aura like usual. No, he was just… tired. He felt almost too warm, especially with Ra spilling his light into the room through the windows. Beyond the sill he could see Memphis—an expanse of white houses where the rich lived, and brown for the poor. He closed his eyes, exhaling. His house had been brown. Made out of simple materials—mud, clay… He remembered helping make it…

"Atemu."

He snapped his eyes open again, feeling the priestesses' hand on his brow. He did not try and remove it.

"Are you hungry, Atemu?"

"No." His voice was raspy. The priestess frowned again before speaking sharply to one of the other slaves. Atemu knew the girl… Merit, her name was.

_Beloved._

He imagined that whoever had named her must have loved her indeed.

He felt something being pressed against his lips and he swallowed greatly through pure reflex. He did not feel hungry.

He continued his silence, holding the cup in his hand, a frown knitting his brow.

"Isis…" His voice was clear now, and the priestess turned towards him as he spoke. She looked guarded. "Yuugi…"

Isis' eyes narrowed, presumably at his use of the Pharaoh's real name.

"Yuugi…" He stared at the water in his cup. Images were forming in it: images of his hometown, burning; his friends, dying; his family, dead.

The room was spinning. He did not like that.

"Yuugi…"

"Someone get the herbs!"

The voices were so far away. He did not pay them any heed. His head moved towards the water cup as the liquid suddenly became as red and thick as blood. He stared at it in horror.

"Yuugi!"

He dropped the cup, watching the bloody fluid seep into the floor as the cup hit with a loud clatter. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the priestess giving orders, but he paid her no heed. No, his attention was riveted on the blood, which was now beginning to take different forms: a man with the head of a falcon and a woman with the head of a cow. Another woman, this one with wings spreading from her hands, and a man with the head of a jackal, were next. Ra, the Sun God; Hathor, the goddess of love; Ma'at, goddess of justice; Anubis, god of mummification.

His eyes narrowed. His body felt hot—unbearably so. He opened his mouth, but the jackal-headed god was upon him. But behind him rose another figure, holding two things across his chest. Upon his head rested the crown of Upper Egypt—or rather, was _used _to be the crown of Upper Egypt—which was flanked with… something.

_Osiris…_

The God of the Underworld had come.

Then his vision faded completely, and all he saw was black.

--

"I can't believe Yuuge would turn his back on us like that," Jou muttered as he smashed his fist into one of the small tables that was placed around Ryou's personal quarters. The albino male himself was sitting by a wall covered in glyphs, nodding every now and then, though anyone could tell he wasn't really paying attention. Truth be told, he was actually looking more towards the window across the room than anything else.

He sighed again.

"Twenty-five."

"Huh?"

"That's the twenty-fifth time you've sighed in the past thirty minutes," Malik said. Ryou blinked at him—three times—before sighing again.

"Twenty-six."

Ryou glared at his blonde friend. Malik shrugged. Jou, who had realized they weren't listening to him, turned to the two with a scowl.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes, Jou. We've heard you for the past four days," Ryou said patiently. Malik sniffed and flicked over one of the sennet pieces.

"Hey!"

"What? You weren't even playing!"

Jou and Malik glared at each other across the checkered, rectangular board.

"You're too busy griping about what our _friend _the _pharaoh _may or may not be doing on his own time."

Jou huffed. "Yeah, well… yeah. Shut up, Malik."

"You wound me," Malik said, rolling his eyes as he flicked over yet _another _sennet piece. One of Jou's, of course: to think he would flick over one of his own was unacceptable. He only wanted to see how long it would be until Jou noticed it was only _his _game pieces being strategically removed.

Actually, Malik was beginning to get quite bored.

He threw one of the sennet pieces at another piece, scowling as he missed and instead sent two of his own clattering to the floor.

"Stupid game."

"Yeah—hey!" Jou scowled as he saw over half his pieces knocked over and two of Malik's on the ground.

"Please don't," Ryou said softly, sighing. "I can't take your fighting anymore. I wish Yuugi was here—he always knew how to stop your skirmishes." The young man stood, wandering towards the surface where he kept his jewelry. He frowned lightly once he reached it. It was still missing. With a shake of his head, the young man sighed. He didn't even remember bringing it anywhere. He had just returned to find it gone with some strange symbol half-carved into the wood where it had rested.

Turning back to his two best friends, the young noble decided that this had to stop. Yuugi was their friend! Yes, he had made a mistake, but hadn't they all at some point? Yuugi didn't deserve this, and they didn't deserve Yuugi's kindness.

Briefly, Ryou felt a flicker of guilt eating his insides. He especially didn't deserve Yuugi's kindness, particularly with what he was doing once every week. But he couldn't help it: Bakura was so addicting.

Ryou shook his head, banishing such thoughts from his mind. "Jou, Malik!" he suddenly snapped, surprising the two squabbling blondes with the sharpness of his tone. "Look at us—we're fighting more than ever now! Yeah, I understand why you'd be mad at Yuugi, but can you really blame him? Our enemy attacked us _in our home_, and the result was devastating. On top of it all, a man might have died trying to save Yuugi's life, and you know how guilty he feels about stuff that like. It would kill him if that… man, Atemu, had died."

"Atemu? "

"… Yami," Ryou corrected himself softly. "Yami."

"You all right, Ryou?" Malik asked.

"Yeah…"

"And wait, Atemu? Who's Atemu?"

"That's Yami's real name, Jou," Ryou murmured.

"What? How do you know _that_?"

"Come off it, Jou. It's obviously that the word or name 'Yami' isn't Egyptian, and since the thief obviously is, it stands to reason that 'Atemu' would be his name, would it not?" Malik said sharply.

"How do you both know this? Like, how in Horus' name would you know it was _Atemu_?" Jou asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

Ryou and Malik looked at each other, Ryou surprised that Malik knew it and Malik surprised that Ryou did, before Malik coughed and Ryou said something about Yuugi mentioning it once or twice when Jou had been off doing something.

The honey-eyed blonde looked at them suspiciously before nodding.

"I think we should apologize to Yuugi," Ryou said at last. "I mean… I think… I think he needs all the friends he can get right now. He's been in and out of that med bay for the four days since the thief has been awake… we ought to help him out a bit, you know?"

Malik and Jou grumbled, but they finally nodded, and the three friends excited the room, unaware that a pair of eyes had just watched their every move.

--

"Right, what we need is a compromise!"

"… What?"

"A compromise, Marik!"

"I'm fairly certain we reached one of those weeks ago. Or have you forgotten already? Wouldn't be the first time."

"Shut up, Bakura."

"I merely state the truth."

"Yeah, _your _version of it."

"Stop snickering and shut up, Marik."

"Sorry, 'Kura."

"And don't call me that!"

"So… about that compromise…"

"We reached one of those weeks ago, little girl. Don't you remember?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… That was creepy sounding even by my standards."

"That's pretty creepy, 'Kura. Mayhaps ol' Peggy here is hiding a secret fetish from us?"

"I am not little!"

"Sure you are."

"_Shut up, Bakura._"

"—And you're not my type, Khemet."

"I don't remember including you in this conversation!"

"I don't remember including _you. _Really, you're being terribly rude."

"When do you think they're going to notice we've eaten the rest of the food, 'Kura?"

"Who cares?"

--

Maybe worrying was a side effect of this strange feeling. Yes, Yuugi had known that, because of the severity and condition of his wound—especially considering where he had gotten it from—there was to be a high chance of an infection. Still, he had hoped the healers would have been able to clean that up.

Trust that soldier to have a dirty sword.

Yuugi clenched his fists and moaned lightly, sliding his eyes open from where they had been focusing on the sheet of papyrus in front of him. The symbols on it had begun to blur in front of his eyes, and finally he told himself it was time for a small break. The fever had been sudden, though he had been in a meeting at the time.

Yuugi grimaced just thinking about it.

"_Pharaoh, we really think it's time you chose a wife. Egypt needs an heir, and—"_

"_I am plenty young," Yuugi said harshly, eyes narrowing as he leaned forward on the throne, the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt resting firmly on his head, as it usually did when he held meetings or appeared in public._

"_Yes, sir, we know that, but the citizens of Egypt, sir—they need to be certain of their future. An heir would provide just that!"_

_Yuugi sighed. He understood where everyone was coming from, but did they not understand that this was too perilous a time for such talk? He imagined that, if the leader of their attackers had a daughter, they would have tried to wed him to her, but luckily for him there was no daughter. His duty to Egypt would have compelled him to marry the girl, even though he knew nothing about it._

_And he would have done it. That was what set him off. Not because _they _said he had to, but because _he _thought he _needed _to. Which he did._

_Really, it was an annoying little thing, this guilt and sense of duty. More often than not he wished he could be rid of it, laugh and ride out into the sunset, turning his back on his duties as pharaoh. But he could not, and the very thought of not being able to do so when he most wanted to was enough to put him on edge._

_And then there was also the matter of Atemu…_

"_I see your point," Yuugi said, voicing his thoughts from before, "but I don't think this would be the ideal time. The enemy is cunning, as they proved from infiltrating the palace, and I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to kill any nobles that may or may not try entering the city. At the very least they would kidnap them or rob them, leaving them to die in the desert. I would not ask that of anyone." Maybe that guilt thing wasn't so bad after all._

"_Ah, but Pharaoh! We already have a noble family visiting the city! Do you not remember her from a few weeks ago?"_

_Yuugi stiffened. "Refresh my memory," he said carefully, biting his lip._

"_The lady Rebecca and her family," the councilman said cheerfully._

_Yuugi squirmed in his throne as he tried to stop himself from jumping up and yelling, "No!" in a loud voice before running from the hall._

"_I do not think—"_

"_She'd be perfect," another councilman said, finally giving the first (and only) speaker so far a chance to rest. "She's young, maybe a couple years younger than yourself, and perfectly capable of bearing strong, healthy children!"_

_Yuugi squeaked, but no one heard him. Sending a silent prayer to the Sun God—_Please, Ra, do something!_ — he continued to listen to the councilmen as they contributed as to why Rebecca would be a good match._

"_I fear I must point something out." Yuugi had forgotten about the Keepers, who had been watching the meeting so quietly he hadn't had reason to believe they were even there._

_Well, not that _all_ of them were_ _there, as Kalim, Akhenaden and Shada were off on respective missions while Isis worked in the medical bay, but Mahado and Seth were there, and Seth alone was hard to forget. He was usually adding comments in left and right if he could when it came to matters like this._

_Ah, well, at least he was doing it now._

"_While the lady Rebecca herself might be a good choice, for she certainly doesn't have the brains to scheme, it seems, her parents are a different matter. How are you to be sure they won't try and seize more power, as is their wont? And the more influence and power they have means the less we have." Seth ended this smoothly, not even batting an eyelash._

"_I'm sure that wouldn't happen—we can limit their power."_

"_But we'd still have to give some of it away," Seth countered coldly._

_The councilmen seemed to pause at that._

"_At any rate," a third man spoke, "we've already invited them to the palace."_

"_With whose permission?" Seth asked, voice like steel as his eyes flickered to Yuugi, who was looking even paler than usual._

"_Certainly not mine," the petite Pharaoh said, resisting the urge to cross his arms and scowl like the child he still wished he could be. "I certainly wouldn't have approved such a move."_

_The councilmen—all twelve of them—looked at each other nervously. "Well, you see—"_

_Suddenly a new figure entered the throne room. It was Isis, clad in her Keeper robes, the Tauk resting around her neck as she moved towards Mahado and Seth, whispering something lowly. Mahado nodded slowly while Seth was tensing up visibly, his knuckles whitening around the rod dangerously. Isis said a few more words before casting a quick glance at Yuugi, dropping her eyes before she said a couple more words and hurried back out of the room, leaving a baffled council and Pharaoh—along with one calm priest and one unstable High Priest—in her wake._

"_What happened?" Yuugi asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He almost cursed when a stray hint of dread and worry managed to work their way into his speech. When he received no answer he suddenly stood, eyes flashing. "Council is dismissed! This meeting is adjourned."_

_The councilmen quickly filed out, leaving the small Pharaoh alone with his two Keepers._

"_Mahado! Seth! What did Isis tell you?" he demanded sharply._

_Mahado tilted his head to the side, offering a small but unmistakable nod. "Isis says that the thief has contracted an infection—likely from the dirty blade of his near-murder weapon—and is now running a high fever."_

"_Stupid Atemu… just jump in the way of a bloody sword why don't you!" Seth growled._

_Yuugi blinked, mouth opening and closing like a fish before it suddenly snapped shut. He stood then, eyes blazing, before abruptly leaving the room, his thoughts echoing Seth's growled statement._

He had resisted the urge to yell at the thief when he arrived at the healing ward, Yuugi remembered. Atemu mad merely looked like he'd been sleeping. His face had been smooth and peaceful and his body still, albeit covered in a faint sheen of sweat.

_Yuugi glared banefully at the sleeping figure in front of him. "You just had to get sick, huh? Almost dying once not enough? You want me to die of a heart attack along with you?" He sighed and leaned forward, brushing away one golden bang. Isis and the slave girls had left promptly, leaving him alone._

_It made Yuugi wonder what they were thinking._

"_I don't understand you. I think being here is worse for you! Somehow I get the feeling that nothing like this ever happened to you when you were out there robbing everyone, hmm?" Yuugi arched a brow then as Atemu exhaled sharply, but otherwise did nothing. He kind of stared at the thief for awhile, wondering how it was that sleep was able to bring out the softest, kindest look in everyone._

_Except maybe Seth. But then again, he had never watched Seth sleep. That would be kind of creepy._

_He could see it now, yes._

"_Oh hi, Seth. I just crawled in your window to see if you looked like an absolute prick while sleeping, too."_

_He could imagine Atemu doing that, and laughing at whatever Seth's reaction would be._

_Yuugi smiled. "You'd better get better, my thief," he said, voice soft this time. "Rebecca's coming back. I'm going to need you there for support." He then paused, eyes becoming half-lidded. "Or maybe I just want you there for myself," he whispered, resting a hand on the thief's brow, with was far warmer than it should have been._

_He remembered him being warm earlier. Had that been an early warning they had all ignored? He bit his lip, shaking his head. Leaning down, he lightly smoothed Atemu's hair back and kissed his forehead, sighing deeply. "I don't know what you've done to me." His words sounded slightly familiar. "I think you've stolen my heart, Atemu." He was struck by the familiarity of his own speech. "And you know… I don't really mind all that much."_

Yuugi smiled at that, eyes sliding shut again as he exhaled deeply, but the peace didn't last, for at that very moment the door to his chamber was opened. Oh, it wasn't forcefully, nay, but it was loud enough to grab his attention, causing him to shift so his eyes could focus on the three people who had just entered the room.

"Umm… Yuuge? We, uh…" A sharp elbow from the white-haired male at his side made the speaker scowl.

The sandy blonde, noticing this, rolled his eyes. "Yuugi?" Malik said. "We've come to apologize."

--

"I was told I could find you here."

"You were told correctly. Now don't you worry about anything—the deal's been settled."

"It… it has?"

"Yes. Your presence here merely confirms it."

"When can I expect—"

"Tomorrow when Ra's journey ends."

"I see. Thank you for your help."

Then he slipped out of the brightly lit room, ever conscious of the decision he had just made: the decision that would change the monarchy of Egypt and its future.

_His _future, and the future of Egypt's nobles and Pharaoh.

A future that, he thought with dread, was no longer in his hands.


End file.
